Mason's Medical
by ElysiumPhoenix
Summary: Join Doctor Grace Mason at Seattle Grace as she meets old friends and new, deals with the interns and tries keep her own interns from killing anyone. STORY COMPLETE!
1. A Hard Day's Night

_Author Note - I'll say straight off the bat - I have zero medical experience besides minor first aid know how that most Mum's need to have. All the medical stuff is either from Grey's or made up. Grace's condition is entirely invented, as far as I know something like that can't happen._

 _Never the less - enjoy._

 _Oh and this story is **COMPLETELY FINISHED**. So it won't be like the others on my profile._

* * *

 _If you don't like the rules, play the game until you're big enough in the game to change the rules._

* * *

Grace stood on the balcony watching the new interns slowly trickle through the main doors, her large hot chocolate warming her rain-chilled hands.

'I hear the daughter of a certain surgeon is amongst the latest sacrifices,' she said as someone came to stand beside her. 'Oops, I mean interns.'

The Chief chuckled slightly. 'The rumour mill already going full steam then?'

'Oh yeah,' Grace said with her own laugh. She reached down to grab the small bag at her feet. 'Your usual swill and a strawberry muffin.'

'You've lived here how many years?' Richard asked as he accepted the bag and pulled his coffee out. 'And you still don't drink coffee?'

'Since 1994, straight out of med school, so eleven years now.' Grace pulled her own half eaten blueberry muffin from her pocket. 'And it tastes like crap no matter how much sugar you add. I'll stick to my hot chocolate thanks.'

Richard joined her in leaning against the railing, watching the faces, both familiar and new, walk in. 'Burke mentioned last week that he's going to be choosing another one.'

Grace smiled. 'That's always fun to watch.'

'Carmichael in Psyche has a new set of mind games to play.'

'They cry so prettily.'

'And I hear that the Dermatology people printed up some lovely pictures for the intro pack.'

Grace narrowly avoided snorting into her chocolate. 'Remind me to avoid that floor for a few days, the smell of vomit lingers.'

'And you?' Richard asked. 'What's your game plan this year?'

'Same as always,' she replied with a shrug. 'Videos. I hate people with a weak stomach and why fix what ain't broke?'

'Discussing your torture methods again?'

They both turned to find Miranda Bailey stood nearby.

Grace smiled happily. 'Hello Miranda, how's you?' She handed over a second goody bag containing more coffee, a mocha latte, and another strawberry muffin.

'Thanks, and I'm good, so long as the Chief here hasn't given me any Rosemary's babies.'

Laughing outright Grace turned back towards the entrance. 'I hear one of them took modelling jobs to pay her way through, she'll get a lot of hits about that, the women will think it demeaning and the guys…well.'

Miranda hummed. 'Yeah, but she won't have thousands in debt, so good for her.'

Richard nodded in agreement. 'We'll have to see if she sticks up for herself.'

'Mm, I heard a rumour about you Doctor Mason.'

'Is that right?' Grace turned towards Miranda in interest. 'Do tell.'

'Overheard your second years talking about you, seems they've given you a name.'

Grace grinned happily. 'I've been named?' Miranda nodded. 'I'm so happy, this is the best moment of my career.'

Miranda just laughed. 'Apparently you are now called Nature.'

'Nature?' Grace and Richard said in confusion.

'Mmhm, as in Mother Nature, always ready to smack you down with some pain and blood, right when you least expect it.' Richard and Grace laughed.

'Oh, I love it!' Grace sipped her drink. 'I might make them all watch the videos, you know, really earn the name.'

'What about you Chief?' Miranda said after they were done laughing. 'You gonna do that 'now you are the Doctors' speech?'

'Like Grace said, if it's not broken…'

When the drinks were eventually done the three of them wandered off to their own domains, thoughts of terror filling their minds.

* * *

Grace managed to find Miranda in the canteen at the same time as her. She sat beside the resident and began eating. 'So, I overheard something, that I'm not telling you, purely because it'll piss you off and I don't want you to kill the messenger.' She paused to eat some of her banana. 'However when you eventually have this knowledge for yourself, and you will, we both know there's no secrets here for long, feel free to yell at me for not warning you.'

Miranda looked at her for a long moment. 'Sounds like you'll be owing me some of those muffins you're always making.'

'Oh yeah.'

'I want chocolate ones and strawberry ones.'

Grace nodded.


	2. The First Cut Is The Deepest

_Author Note - Dear Guest reviewer, considering Meredith isn't one of the tagged characters why were you expecting MerDer? Or expecting Meredith to be the main character?_

 _I'm in the middle of changing internet providers so there might be a bit of a gap between updates. Mostly I'll and a new chapter a couple of times a week._

 _Enjoy._

* * *

 _You teach people how to treat you by what you allow. Stop and reinforce._

* * *

Grace was stood above the surgical reception area, watching Miranda's interns. The Grey girl had a mocha latte in her hand and was arguing with the model and the puppy about them moving in with her. The Korean girl was calling out Grey on her bribe.

It was very amusing, making her smile behind her hot chocolate.

As Miranda emerged from the nurses' office her interns gathered round and got told their assignments. Grey however decided to be bold and ask for OR time, prompting the others to do the same.

She listened to Miranda tell them off, take the coffee and head up the stairs towards her. 'No one holds a scalpel till I'm so happy, I'm Mary-freakin'-Poppins.' Miranda then paused near the top of the stairs, realising they were still loitering. 'Why are you all standing there? Move!'

And they were in the wind.

Grace chuckled when Miranda reached her. 'Gotta love the smell of fearful interns in the morning.'

'Damn whiny, needy babies is what they are.' Miranda said glancing at the interns retreating backs. 'Izzy woke me twice during their first shift.'

'So the model does have some balls hidden away then.' Grace chuckled and saw a familiar face headed towards the lifts. 'How do you like the new attending?'

'Shepherd?' Miranda hummed. 'Did good work on the Katie Bryce case, clever move getting the interns to do the research, saved the girl's life doing that. What about you? What's your opinion?'

Grace looked at Miranda, loving that someone here was the same height as her and she didn't have to strain her neck every time they spoke. 'I've known Derek for a while. He hasn't realised I'm here as well, yet.'

'Why haven't you gone looking for him then?'

'We've never really got along that well,' Grace thought back to the conversation she overheard in the stairwell. 'And I don't think that's going to change any time soon.'

Miranda gave her a considering look. 'I think this is the first time you've had less than nice things to say about anyone.'

Grace just shrugged. 'He's a brilliant Doctor, truly amazing, but as people we just don't mix well. Much to our friends' amused frustration.'

'Any interesting cases lately?' Miranda asked as they started walking down the corridor.

'Nope, had some twins the other day, and I'm talking with Burke today about some heart stuff that might be an issue soon. Plus Kenley has given me some points of reference.'

'The Paediatric Doctor?'

'Yeah, he's my go to for any kid related info I can't find, you know the long term impact of early births and what not.'

* * *

'You alright?'

Grace startled when Richard spoke from beside her. 'Richard, hey.' She turned to look back through the window of the rape victim's room. 'I'm…okay. I heard she bit it off and that Grey is now carrying it around in a cooler.'

Richard winced slightly. 'Yes, yes she is. Patricia told me you'd been standing here a while.'

'Yeah.' She watched to unconscious girl for another long moment before turning away, Richard following after her. 'I'll check on her later. Thank you for coming to check on me.'

'Not a problem,' he said with a smile when she stopped at the lift. 'I'll see you later.'

* * *

'You seen my interns?' Miranda said as she stopped beside Grace.

'Er…' Grace thought for a moment. 'Oh, I saw them headed down towards the south overflow corridor. I think they congregate there or something.' She reached under the desk she was leaning on to grab the coffee and snack bag she'd put there. 'I was just about to come look for you. Here.'

'Thanks,' Miranda took a sip and then looked back at her. 'Are you here for the night?'

'Yep, busy night tonight, don't trust the juvies to handle everything, so…'

'Well, I need a break, and I need to scare my interns, want to join me?'

Grace chuckled and handed the file back to her intern that was stood nearby. 'Take that back to Mrs Hartley's room, and this time don't fuck up the charts or you'll get what's coming to you.'

The young girl scampered off with a wide eyed look.

Turning back to Miranda she grinned. 'Let's go scare yours now. Can you believe she put all the info in the wrong parts of the chart?' Grace grabbed her own drink and bag as she spoke.

'Seriously?' Miranda said with a frown as they walked off. 'What are you teaching your kids these days?'

'God knows with that one.'

They turned near the snack machines and sure enough, Miranda's interns were all sat looking exhausted. The two of them stopped and Miranda just held her hands out with a curious expression. In three seconds the beds were clear and the interns were gone.

Miranda smiled slightly picked up an abandoned packet of crisps. 'Waste not, want not.' And she settled on the bed.

Grace just laughed and joined her, glad for the rest, however brief it might end up being.

* * *

Ten minutes later one of Grace's residents found them.

'Doctor Mason?'

'Doctor Kay.' She said with a raised brow, he was one of the more competent residents that worked under her. It was unusual for him to need to seek her out.

'The Johnsons baby, Doctor Grey said she saw him have a tet spell. I think she went to Doctor Burke when Doctor Shen wouldn't listen to her. And when we, that is Doctor Burke and I, asked how sure she was that the baby was fine…well anyway, Doctor Burke took the case, I said I'd get your signature on these for him and let you know.'

Grace held her hand out for the papers, exchanging a look with Miranda at the same time. 'Thank you for letting me know. And tell Shen she's on Box 4 for the rest of her shift aside from checks on the Johnson baby.'

Doctor Kay winced, knowing what videos were in that box. 'Yes Ma'am.' He took back the forms. 'I'll get these back to Doctor Burke.'

After he was gone Miranda cursed. 'Damn Rosemary's babies.'

* * *

Grace stopped near the nurse's station in ICU.

'Need something Doctor Mason?'

'Oh, no, thank you Laura,' she smiled at the nurse. 'I just wanted to see if there had been any change.' Grace nodded towards Allison's room where Shepherd was sat doing paperwork.

Laura shook her head. 'Not really, she's stable though, so that's something.'

Grace nodded again and looked back at Shepherd. 'How long has Doctor Shepherd been in there?'

'He hasn't left.'

'Of course not,' Grace might not like him much, but he was a dedicated Doctor. 'Do me a favour?' She paused until the nurse nodded. 'Take this money to the machines and get him a sandwich and drink.' She handed over some money. 'Just don't tell him about me.'

She turned and walked off again before Laura could say anything else.

* * *

On her way out of the hospital, Grace took a detour to Allison's room. And was pleasantly surprised to find Allison awake.

Allison saw her through the window and smiled uncertainly.

Grace walked in, not going too close too quickly. 'My name is Doctor Grace Mason, I'm glad to see you awake.'

'Thanks,' Allison said with a rough voice. 'Are you on my case as well?'

After a quick glance at the chart, Grace saw she was okay to take fluids and moved closer to pour some water into a jug. 'No, it's not my area.' She put a straw in the glass and held it close to Allison's mouth. 'But, everyone has been routing for you. And…I wanted to speak with you when you woke up.'

Allison looked at her curiously. 'Why?' She looked wary, obviously expecting some kind of 'yay you' comment.

'I've…I've been where you are.' Grace said after a moment. 'I've heard all the things people say after something like this, I know at least some of the thoughts going through your head.' She pulled a pen and paper from her bag. 'This is the number for the therapist I saw, he was in Boston when I saw him but he relocated here a couple of years ago.'

'A guy?' Allison said hesitantly as Grace put the paper on the bedside table.

'His sister was raped, after that he specialised in helping rape and abuse survivors.' Grace smiled. 'He's very good, and will work at your pace, and he does it for free if you can't afford to pay. My number is there as well if you want it.' She turned to leave only to stop by the door. 'And you are a survivor, Allison. Don't let anyone make you a victim.'

Allison smiled and nodded. 'Thank you.'


	3. Winning A Battle, Losing The War

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/favourites/reviews. And yes I know this chapter is short, all the chapters have a variety of lengths. The shorter ones are like snapshots, designed to give you glimpses of Grace's personality. I hope you enjoy the chapter._

 _And hi to Beagle Brother!_

* * *

 _I've been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn't know how to get along without it._

* * *

Grace yawned widely stood in the corridor near the residents changing room. When Miranda emerged she held out the coffee and bagel in her right hand. Pulling her own bagel from her pocket.

'You know what today is?' Miranda asked as they started walking.

'It's why I came in an hour early, didn't want to get smashed into something by a moron on two wheels.'

Miranda just frowned. 'Damn fools. Met Shepherd at a crossing, the idiot almost got killed by the fools.'

Grace snorted almost choking on her bagel. 'Always nice talking to you Miranda,' she said as they parted ways at the lifts.

* * *

Stopping in the middle of the hallway Grace watched as Grey and Yang left the men's room and walked off. Not long after, Burke emerged and she raised an eyebrow at him when he saw her.

'What were they doing in there?'

Burke rolled his eyes. 'Apparently they think restrooms are a good place to ask Attendings to do surgery on brain dead patients.'

Grace chuckled. 'Were you at least…done before they accosted you?'

He just gave her a look as he walked off, leaving her to laugh as she went in the opposite direction.

* * *

Grace stood at the door to Mackie's room and spoke to the Chief as he left. 'Everything go alright?' She'd met the other man a few times through her friendship with Richard.

'Perfectly,' Richard said with a happy smile. 'Barring post-op problems he'll be fine.'

'Good, I'm glad.' She followed Richard down the hall. 'By the way, I left a cherry pie on your desk for you and Adele.'

Richard chuckled. 'You're gonna spoil us, and give us diabetes while you're at it.'

'What's the point in living a long life if you don't enjoy the good things on the way?' She replied with a grin as she stepped into the closing lift, leaving him laughing on the other side.


	4. No Man's Land

_Sometimes I push you away, it's because I need you to pull me closer._

* * *

Grace saw the crowd along the corridor and grinned. 'Alright, alright, who's causing all this noise, this is a hospital you know.' The nurses nearest her made a hole to reveal Liz's smiling face. 'Oh it's just you, well, nothing new about you having a crowd around you. At least this time you're getting to relax while you do it.'

She saw Yang's face fall slightly, clearly she'd been hoping for Grace to make everyone clear out, so she could get on with things. Richard had told her about the intern thinking there would be a surgery on Liz.

Liz just grinned at her. 'You're one to talk. You're always causing a riot with those damn treats of yours.'

Grace looked at Liz with wide eyes. 'Oh is that right, well I guess…' she lifted the small bag she was carrying, 'you won't be wanting these coffee and walnut muffins then.' There were a few chuckles, _everyone_ knew they were Liz's favourite. 'I suppose the Chief would appreciate them…'

'Hey now,' Liz snagged the bag. 'Let's not be too hasty, riots aren't always a bad thing.'

Laughing, Grace just shook her head. 'I was actually on my way to your room, since it's on my way.' Just then her pager beeped. After a quick glance she leaned over to drop a kiss on Liz's forehead. 'I'll come by later, Liz. Take care of her Yang or I'll set Bailey on you.'

* * *

Grey nodded to her as she left Liz's room.

'Well, you coming in or what?'

Grace chuckled and walked into the room, perching on the edge of the bed. 'How you doing?'

'Fine, fine,' Liz waved away the concern. 'What do you know about Meredith Grey then?'

'She's with Bailey, along with Yang and three others, they all show promise. 'I don't think Grey is going to go general though.'

Liz looked intrigued. 'You don't? What area then?'

'Perhaps Neuro? She seems to…click with that area of things best.'

'You know anything about her mother?'

Grace pursed her lips slightly. 'She'll probably end up telling you. I'll leave it to her.'

The old nurse nodded. 'You gonna bring me more muffins in the morning?'

Grace laughed and nodded. 'Any kind in particular?'

* * *

'You have got to be kidding me Riley!' Grace as she looked down at another set of messed up charts before glaring at her intern. 'This is the third time you've done this!'

'I'm really sorry Doctor Mason, I – '

Grace cut her off with a sharp hand movement. 'No, the patient is allergic to eighty percent of pain medications! _This_ fuck up, could have killed her and her baby!' She saw the head nurse nearby. 'Nurse Simpson, for the rest of the week Doctor Riley is the go to girl for anything you want.'

'What?!' Riley said looking between Grace and the nurse.

'Yes Doctor Mason.'

'But you can't – '

'You will also be on probation for a month. You will not touch a single patient file in that time, you will not speak directly to any patients either. After that I may just consider not firing you.'

Grace accepted the new charts being held out to her by the nurse and walked off. It was only the fact that Grace had dealt with this patient before that she'd noticed the mistake this time.

* * *

Grace walked into Liz's room with four strawberry and white chocolate muffins.

'What put that look on your face Gracie,' Liz asked as she accepted two muffins.

'An intern fucked up charts for the third time. This time it was with a patient with allergies to just about anything we give for pain relief.'

Liz made a disbelieving sound. 'Damn, you yell at them?'

Grace nodded and spoke past a mouthful of muffin. 'You're damn right I did. She's the nurses butt monkey for a week and on probation.'

'Still putting fear into their hearts then,' Liz said with a slightly breathless laugh.

'Oh, that reminds me!' Grace said with a grin, her anger forgotten. 'I've got a nickname!'

Liz smiled back at her. 'Go on then, what do they call you?'

'Nature.' Grace said happily. 'As in Mother Nature, always ready to smack them down with pain and blood. I love it.'

'It fits you perfectly,' Liz said in agreement. 'Damn, these are good muffins, even better than I remember.'

* * *

Grace stood at the door to Liz's room having followed Burke there. She watched as he stopped Yang from trying to resuscitate Liz. And then listened as the flatline tone was the only sound in the room.

It didn't take long for others to arrive and wait out the allotted time, when the Chief arrived, Grace moved further into the room, leaning on his side slightly. Tyler stood at her other side and put a hand on her shoulder.

Eventually, Burke checked her heart and motioned for the intern to turn off the machine. He looked at Yang. 'You ever called one?'

Yang looked around for a moment before answering. 'No.'

Richard nodded at her. 'Call it, Doctor.'

'Time of death, 11:43,' Yang said as she looked at her watch, then she immediately left the room.

Grace wiped away stray tear. 'Chief, do you mind if I…'

Richard shook his head. 'Go ahead.'

'Tyler, let's tidy her up.'

The others slowly left the room as she and Tyler started taking wires and things off of Liz's body.

* * *

 _Author Note - Let me know what you think. Thanks for all the follows/faves._


	5. Shake Your Groove Thing

_Author Note - Sorry for the delay in uploading, I was in hospital having an operation and this is the first day I've felt up to editing even this short chapter. Enjoy. And as ever thanks for following/favouriting._

* * *

 _Maturity doesn't come with age, rather with the acceptance of responsibility._

* * *

Grace saw Richard up ahead as he cut away from Miranda, Yang and O'Malley. 'Chief!' She caught up to him as he paused. 'Did I hear right? There was a towel left inside a patient?' She kept her voice low so other patients wouldn't overhear.

'Unfortunately.' He looked at her as they stepped into the lift together. 'Have you seen Patricia?'

'Last I saw she was headed towards your office.' Grace said, knowing he'd need her to get the lawyers in.

'At least I won't have to go hunting for her.' Richard ran a hand across his face. 'This is not good.'

Grace snorted. 'Too right.' She waved as he stepped out of the lift again. 'Keep me posted, yeah?'

The Chief nodded as the doors closed.

* * *

Miranda stepped into the lift she was on and smiled slightly. 'Well, I'm in the mood for a few drinks, how about you?'

'Oh yeah, almost lost one today, very close call.' Grace said with a sigh.

'Want a ride there? You're on my way.'

Grace smiled gratefully at Miranda. 'Sure, that'd be great.' They walked off the lift together. 'I'll see you soon then.'

Miranda nodded as she headed towards the exit that led to the car park, Grace headed to the side entrance that was the quickest way to the bus stop.

* * *

Grace was wearing a long sleeved, off-the-shoulder blue dress that swished at her knees with her long brown hair clipped back from her face. She kept quiet as she followed Miranda, who was telling Yang to keep quiet about the towel thing while putting food onto a plate, Grace occasionally putting something on as well.

This was what always happened if Grace attended a party. She'd never go alone and would always share a plate with whoever she went with. Thankfully Miranda was used to this and didn't even blink.

'We're not gonna talk about it anymore is what's gonna happen. We clear? Or you had too much alcohol to understand me?' Miranda looked Yang up and down as Grace snorted.

'We're very clear.' Yang said, finally realising the topic wasn't up for discussion.

'Good.' Miranda handed Grace the plate and looked around, grabbing two plastic cups. 'You have any bourbon?'

Yang just walked off.

'Oh, there it is,' Grace said, prodding the bottle with her free hand. 'You know,' she said as Miranda poured them drinks. 'I'm pretty sure Grey doesn't know how big this party is, going on what I overheard your babies talking about earlier.'

'I'm pretty sure Stevens is avoiding something with her boyfriend from what I heard.'

Grace snorted. 'Yeah, dating a Doctor is different to dating a med student.'

Miranda nodded. 'Tell me about it. So,' she said as they wandered elsewhere. 'You got a somebody you ain't told me about?'

'Hardly,' Grace rolled her eyes. 'I'm not exactly the most social person, so I don't go anywhere to meet anyone. Occasionally Joe's but that's it. You know this.'

'So who're you always texting and smiling about then?' Miranda said after greeting another resident. 'I've seen you do it.'

Grace just laughed slightly. 'He's just a friend and he's not interested in me.'

Miranda paused at that. 'That makes it sound like you're interested in him.'

'I…suppose.' Grace took a long drink. 'A bit, but nothing will ever come of it. Like I said, he's not interested in me.'

'Damn fool if you ask me,' Miranda said looking her up and down. 'You scrub up well.'

* * *

A little while later they heard Yang calling for George, even over the music. Looking into the next room they saw O'Malley joining Yang and Grey on the table, the three of them quite happily dancing.

'I'm glad I don't live here.' Grace said after a moment.

'Mmhm,' agreed Miranda with a smile. 'You ever go to parties like this in college?'

'Meh, a couple of times, but it wasn't really my scene. You?'

Miranda chuckled. 'Oh yeah, a few, here and there. Wasn't really my scene either.'

* * *

Later on they were headed out the door, however Miranda's car was the last on the drive and was now blocked in. 'Damn it, knew I should have parked down the street.'

Grace saw a figure in the car blocking them as they got closer. 'They're in the car, just ask them to move.'

However, moving closer revealed two people in the car, two familiar people.

Miranda paused and then knocked. 'You mind moving this tail wagon? You're blocking us in.'

The two of them headed back to the car, getting in and trying to not watch as Grey and Shepherd got their clothes back on.

'Strawberry and chocolate.'

'I remember,' Grace said with a nod.


	6. If Tomorrow Never Comes

_Author Note - Thank for all the follows/favourites. Please let me know what you think so far._

* * *

 _Better three hours too soon, than a minute too late._

* * *

Grace handed over the latest muffins – one chocolate, one strawberry. Miranda took them easily. Neither of them spoke about what they were payment for, knowing it was best not to bring it up. Or to even bring up how Miranda was ignoring Grey.

* * *

Grace waited for the lift to arrive only to find Miranda stepping off it, leaving Shepherd behind. She stepped out of sight before he saw her, just listening.

'You know, can I point out that technically, I'm your boss?'

Miranda stopped and turned back. 'You don't scare me. Look,' she pushed the doors back open. 'I'm not going to advertise your extracurricular activities with my intern. However the next time I see you favouring Meredith Grey in any way, I'll make sure she doesn't see the inside of an OR for a month.' Miranda started to walk off. 'Just for the sake of balance.'

Grace watched her friend walk away and let the lift leave without her.

Sometimes it was painfully obvious why they called Miranda the Nazi.

* * *

Knocking on the door, Grace waited for Richard to call out before going in. 'Hey there Chief, I brought lunch.' She held out the bag to him. 'Barbeque chicken with garlic and mushroom rice.'

Richard smiled widely. 'Your own sauce?' He asked as he pulled out the still warm container of food.

'Of course,' she sat opposite him. 'I know it's early for lunch, but I also know you're starting the tumour op soon. You're going to need fuel for that one.'

'Oh yes,' he replied with wide eyes, opening the tub. 'It's gonna be a doozy. Anything interesting for you today?'

'No, all routine, I might stop by to observe if I get the chance.' Grace took a bit of her own food. 'Her chances are not good.'

Richard nodded. 'No, but without the op she has no chance at all.' He broke off and made a noise of pleasure. 'Oh, Adele will not be happy that you didn't make her any of this.'

Grace chuckled and put another bag on his desk. 'It'll keep until tomorrow.'

'You are an angel, Grace.'

'And don't you forget it.'

* * *

Grace was finishing up some papers when Isobel Stevens stopped at the desk to drop off some papers, already changed into street clothes.

'I hear you had to open up a patient bedside, Doctor Stevens.'

'Doctor Mason, hi, and yeah, I did.' Poor girl looked both exhausted and exhilarated.

Grace smiled at her. 'You did good. Saved his life, you should be proud of yourself. Tyler told me you had never even seen it done before?'

'No, I hadn't,' Izzy smiled slightly. 'I was…frankly I was terrified.'

'But you still did your job.' Grace stood with the finished paperwork and walked off, talking over her shoulder. 'Well done, Izzy.'

'Thanks, Doctor Mason.'


	7. The Self-Destruct Button

_Author Note - Sorry for the delay, for some reason there was an error every time I tried to upload the chapter. Sorted now, so enjoy!_

* * *

 _No amount of sleep in the world could cure the tiredness I feel._

* * *

'Doctor Mason!'

Grace came to a stop and let Grey catch up to her. 'Something I can help you with Doctor Grey?'

'Girl with abdominal pain and fever. She has laparoscopic scars on her stomach, Doctor Bailey said to check how your schedule was in case her CTs came back and showed we needed your help.'

'I'm light today, but I'm catching up on paperwork so I'll be here for a while. Page me if I'm needed.' Grace started to walk off again.

'Will do, Doctor Mason.'

* * *

Grace was sat in the observation room, watching Miranda and Grey operate on the bad bypass girl. Doing paperwork in here was a change of pace from her office.

'What are you doing here?'

Ah, finally, the inevitable meeting.

'Hello Derek.' Grace replied without looking up. 'You here to watch the intern?' She shouldn't have said it, but she couldn't resist. Besides, she was sat nearest the door, so she didn't have to speak too loud for him to hear her.

'Bailey told you?'

Grace snorted. 'No, I overheard the two of you talking in the stairwell your first day here. Also, I was with Miranda the night of the party, you just didn't see me.'

Shepherd was quiet for a long moment. 'What are you doing here?'

'I've worked here for years, ever since I left the east coast. I did my internship here and residency and now I'm an attending.'

'I've never seen you on the floor.'

Grace shook her head. 'I've been around, but most of my patients are just pushing out babies, they rarely need surgery.'

Shepherd made a scoffing noise. 'You're playing midwife?'

'Go spit Shepherd, I could give a flying fuck what you think of my career choices.' Grace was tired of pretending to be polite. She heard murmurs from the other people sat in the room.

'So, how's the nerves?' He said with a slightly cruel tone to his voice.

Grace slapped her files shut and stood up, going to stand in the doorway beside him. 'Fine, how's the wife?' She left without waiting for a response, already knowing the answer.

* * *

Miranda found her in the overflow corridor her interns usually occupied. 'I heard a rumour about you, a few actually.' She sat beside Grace and stole one of her cookies. 'My favourite was that Shepherd is your secret lover that followed you here from New York.'

Grace choked on her sandwich. 'What?!'

'The most accurate one said that you used to work together but fell out and you moved here away from him.'

'Still not completely true, we did have an argument before I left the east coast, but it had nothing to do with me moving here.'

'I didn't think it did, just letting you know what people are saying.'

Grace smiled slightly. 'Don't worry, one of my interns will mess up and I'll yell at them in front of people and everybody will know I'm still the mean old tyrant I usually am.'


	8. Save Me

_Author Note - To the lovely Guest who decided to stop reading because it's '_ evident you are going to make this a mason Derek story _' - I don't false advertise, the story is clearly marked with an OC/Mark pairing. Otherwise feel free to read something more suited to your tastes._

 _On another note - thank for all the favourites/follows. Enjoy my OC/Mark story._

* * *

 _That awesome feeling when someone is making an effort to make you smile._

* * *

'Doctor Mason,' Miranda said as she came around the corner ahead. 'Can you look at this file for me?'

'Sure Miranda,' Grace glanced at her intern. 'Go finish admitting Miss Brown and do her exam, tell her I'll be there shortly.' She took the file from Miranda and started reading. 'Damn…has she decided yet?'

'No, but my guess is that she'll keep the baby, I already asked for a counsellor to go and talk with them be a sounding board if they need it.'

Grace nodded. 'Alright, keep me posted. If she does decide to continue the pregnancy, I'll speak with them about earliest viability and such.'

Miranda took the file back. 'Thanks, Yang's on the case so it'll probably be her that finds you if that happens.' She turned and started to walk off. 'I'll see you for food later?'

'Yep, if no babies decide to jump the gun anyway.'

* * *

Grace wandered the surgical floor, looking for Miranda. 'And none of her interns are anywhere to be seen either.'

'Looking for someone Doc?'

Turning, Grace saw a brown haired man smiling at her from the room she'd stopped outside. 'Yes sir. You happen to know where a Doctor Bailey is, would you?'

'Short, bossy, has some really cute interns?'

'Well I wouldn't know about that last part,' Grace said with a laugh. 'But that sounds like her. Have you seen her?'

'No but the – ' he broke off suddenly his eyes searching the room but not really seeing.

'Sir, are you alright?' Grace stepped into the room just as Izzy turned up.

'Is he having another seizure?' Izzy asked as she moved forward to check his eyes. 'Mr Duff?'

'Epilepsy?'

Izzy nodded. 'Looks like it so far.'

Mr Duff's seizure ended and he looked right at Grace. 'Your boy is beautiful Grace, I'm sorry.'

Grace blanched felt the two lunch bags slip from her fingers. The noise of them hitting the floor startled her. Grabbing the bags, she thrust one at Izzy. 'Give this to Bailey.' And then she left.

* * *

Grace was sat on the roof where helicopters would usually land when Miranda found her.

'You gonna be okay?'

'Probably.' Grace said quietly. 'But I'll be getting drunk tonight.'

'At home?'

Grace managed a smile. 'Yes, I'll be safe.'

Miranda nodded. 'Good. I'll see you later.' She paused at the door. 'Oh, the cancer Mom is keeping the baby after all.'

'I'll go see her in a bit.'

* * *

Grace concentrated very hard on hitting the right contact on her cell phone. It rang for a couple of minutes before a voice, rough with sleep, answered.

' _I may very well shoot whoever this is.'_

'You'd never shoot me! You love me too much!'

' _Gracie? That you?'_

'Yep! Oh, I probably woke you up.' Grace realised a little too late. 'What time is it there? Is it late? Is it early? Were you asleep? Or in the middle of something? You weren't having – '

' _Gracie! Ssh!'_ Grace stopped rambling. _'You're drunk, aren't you? That's the only time you do this.'_

Grace looked at the new bottle of bourbon that was now missing most of its contents. 'Maybe a little bit.'

' _How much of a little bit?'_

'Most of a bottle,' Grace poured some more into her glass. 'It almost gone, I bought it on the way home from work. Since I hadn't got around to replacing my last bottle yet. But I got the good stuff, so worth the money.'

' _What happened Gracie?'_

'There was a psychic patient,' Grace replied quietly before downing her drink. 'He had an AVM but he was the real deal. He knew about…Marcus.'

There was a long sigh. _'I'm sorry I can't be there for you.'_

Grace nodded. 'I know, but, would you…just talk to me? Until I fall asleep.'

' _All night if I have to. Want to hear about my patients?'_

With a grateful smile Grace got comfy on her sofa with a blanket and her drink. 'Yes, yes I do.'


	9. Who's Zoomin' Who?

_Author Note - I'm updating again quicker purely to celebrate a new life in my family. My cousin, after many years or miscarriages and stillbirths, gave birth to a healthy baby boy earlier today. Her pregnancy wasn't easy and the expected problems for the little guy when he was born, but so far he's doing very well, and came out a healthier weight than expected, 8 pound odd. His name is William and he's living, breathing proof that miracles can happen._

* * *

 _I wanted to tell you all my secrets, but you became one of them instead._

* * *

Grace was sat in Richard's office when he walked in, not looking very happy. 'Is this a bad time?'

'No, no. We can still do lunch.' The Chief took his seat and smiled at her. 'What have you got for me this time?'

'Garlic and tomato chicken with salad, and some triple chocolate cookies.' She handed over the tub.

'Just what I need right now.'

They had just finished their lunch, talking about nothing in particular, both ignoring Richard rubbing his head occasionally, when Shepherd walked in.

He frowned slightly at Grace but then proceeded to ignore her. 'You dropped a retractor.'

Richard looked at him before nodding. 'Fine, no you stay,' he said as Grace went to stand. 'A few weeks ago I was operating and the vision in my right eye became blurry.'

Grace frowned at this, quickly running over the last few weeks in her head, and realising she had seen Richard rubbing his eyes or head a lot.

'After a few hours, it was fine. It's come back again.'

'Did you have it checked out?' Shepherd asked, moving closer.

'Examination was normal. My ophthalmologist tells me I'm just getting older. But you know what a decline in my visual acuity could mean. Both of you.'

'So you'll get some tests done.' Grace said firmly.

Shepherd huffed a little. 'For once I'm agreeing with Mason. I'll set the tests up.'

'Shep, Gracie, I know how the rumour mill works around here,' he gave them both a look. 'Let's just keep this to ourselves.'

'Absolutely.' Shepherd agreed easily. 'Yeah.' He turned and left the office, making Richard turn his attention to her.

Gracie groaned slightly. 'Fine, but Adele will kill me.'

'I'll buy you a bottle of bourbon.' Richard said with a slight smile.

'It better be the good stuff.'

* * *

Grace stood at the door to the room where Richard and Patricia were lecturing the staff about the syphilis outbreak. And she was trying very hard to not laugh at the Chief's expressions.

She watched as Shepherd spoke to him and they both headed towards the door she was stood at.

Richard gave her the stink eye. 'Don't think I didn't see you giggling away over here.'

Grace gave him an innocent look. 'I don't know what you're talking about Chief.'

'Yeah right,' Richard said with an eye roll.

'Hey, I deal with the number one side effect of unprotected sex. Yours is easily dealt with using some penicillin, mine lasts a lot longer.'

That got her a chuckle. 'Fine, fine. I'll see you later.'

'Richard,' she said as they walked off. 'Keep me updated, yeah?'

He saw her serious look and nodded. 'Of course.'

* * *

Grace was with Miranda when Grey asked her to help with the Chief's surgery. She held back a frown when she saw Shepherd bounding up the stairs.

'How goes our special super secret silent sunset surgery?' He asked with a smile. Miranda, Grace and Grey exchanged looks, though Grey's was less exasperated than theirs. 'I've been practicing that.'

Miranda just looked at him. 'You have too much time on your hands.'

'Amen to that,' Grace said with a smile.

'Tell the Chief I'll be there.' Miranda said to Grey. 'Just let me know when and where. I'm in.'

Grace looked back as they walked down the stairs. 'Tell him I've got a surgery. But I'll be done in time to watch.'

* * *

Grace spoke as she worked, knowing Burke was following, but would appreciate the commentary. 'That's the last of the ovarian material. I just need to sew up the perforation on the bladder wall.'

She paused and glanced at Burke before shaking her head and continuing.

'Is there a problem Doctor Mason?'

'It's just…you said this man's wife is…pregnant?' Grace said slowly as she began stitching. 'Four or five weeks left, right?'

'Five weeks to go, yes. Why?'

Grace winced slightly. 'Our patient has a blind vas deferens.' She didn't elaborate, Burke would know what that meant.

Burke glanced down at the surgical site. 'Bill is sterile.'

'And always has been.' The apology was easily heard in her voice. She wasn't as close to Burke as some other Doctors at Seattle Grace but they were friendly enough.

O'Malley leaned forward slightly to look in. 'Then who got his wife pregnant?' Everyone just looked at him for a moment. 'Oh.'

Grace heard Karev snigger. 'Karev.' She said sharply. 'Watch yourself or you'll be up to your elbows in compacted bowels.'

Karev straightened and stopped sniggering. 'Yes, Doctor Mason.'

'You want me to go with you Doctor Burke? Or do you have this?'

'I'll be fine, thank you.'

Grace nodded and focused on her work again. Letting the quiet violin music settle in her head.

* * *

Grace stood near the anaesthesia machine in the OR, out of the way, her fingers clenching and unclenching reflexively. She usually had a handle on her nervousness but Richard was her friend, almost like family, and it was making her worse than usual.

Shepherd walked in tying his mask in place. 'How we doing?'

'Did you lock up the gallery?'

'I did,' Grace said, stepping forward so Richard could see her. 'Right before I came in here. Don't worry, we're in the clear.'

He glanced down and she tried to hide her hands behind her back. 'You okay there Gracie?'

She nodded. 'I will be. Shepherd's the best there is, we both know that. I'm just being me.'

Richard gave her a look and then switched to Miranda. 'How much vancomycin is there?'

'One gram, as ordered, sir.'

He then looked back at Shepherd. 'You're not gonna be too liberal with those benzos are you?'

Grace chuckled slightly her nerves easing.

Shepherd shook his head in amusement. 'You know, doctors make the worst patients, don't they? You should just breath in the happy gas. Stop running my OR.' He placed the mask over Richard's face. Before leaning closer. 'I got you covered.'

Richard nodded slightly as the gas quickly took effect. Grace moved out of the way, to the opposite side of the room, her hands still clenching and unclenching.

* * *

Grace was stood near the door to the scrub room getting herself under control again. Her eyes still on Richard as Miranda wrapped his head.

'He'll be fine.'

She startled when Shepherd spoke, not having realised he was next to her, taking off his surgical garments. 'I know.' Grace looked back at Richard. 'I know that. You're good at your job. I know he'll be fine.'

Grace was startled again when Shepherd gently lifted her hand which was tightly clenched. She pulled her hand back and took a step away from him. 'Don't.'

'You should have the surgery.' He said quietly.

'It's manageable.' Grace bit out. 'I'm fine.' Not wanting to hear anymore she turned and walked out of the surgery. She would see Richard in the morning when he wasn't as groggy.

* * *

Grace was headed towards the main entrance when she saw the approaching car crash. And she couldn't help but stop to watch.

Shepherd was sorting Meredith's coat then he picked up his bag before turning and freezing when he caught sight of her.

As Addison started walking towards them, Shepherd said something to Meredith.

Then Addison and Shepherd spoke, then Addison spoke to Meredith.

Shepherd went to touch Meredith's arm but she just took a couple of steps away before hurriedly leaving the hospital.


	10. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

_Author Note - Thank you for the follows/favourites. Enjoy the next chapter._

* * *

 _The more you show your feelings, the more people can find ways to hurt you._

* * *

Grace watched as Shepherd and Addison exchanged words, when it seemed to be coming to a close she moved closer, catching Addison's eye as she walked away from Shepherd.

'Grace.' Addison said with a wide smile.

'Addison,' Grace easily returned the hug offered, ignoring the glare aimed at her by Shepherd. 'Glad to see your plane arrived safely.'

Addison glanced back and saw the look aimed their way. 'Show me the way to Richard?'

'Sure, nothing better to do anyway.' Grace linked arms with Addison and they headed towards the lift. 'You do like to make an entrance, don't you?'

'I just took advantage of the opportunity.' Addison looked her over, lingering on her hands. 'You look a little…stressed.'

Grace smiled slightly. 'Richard just had surgery – he's fine.' She said quickly, when Addison looked concerned. 'A tumour on the optic nerve. Shepherd took care of it, but…you know what I'm like.'

Addison nodded. 'So…you never mentioned her.'

This was said casually as they entered the lift, but Grace saw past that.

'So not getting involved. I know why he left New York, Addie, I know what led to that and I knew you'd eventually come here. The TTTS just made it happen sooner. And the intern, she didn't know about you. She didn't even know he was married.'

Addison made a noise but didn't speak.

'Don't punish her Addie, don't put her in the middle.'

The red head sighed. 'I wasn't going to, Gracie. I just…I want him back.'

'I know.'

'Do you think I can?'

Grace chuckled. 'I know it's not what you want to hear but you know where I stand in this. _If_ I was going to get involved, I'd tell you to go back to New York and enjoy what you had there – '

'Even though you're in love with him?'

Grace didn't speak as they exited the lift.

'I shouldn't have –

'No,' Grace said quietly. 'I pretty sure that Mark and Shepherd are the only ones who _don't_ know.' She stopped and pointed down the hall. 'He's just down there. I'm gonna head home, tell him I'll be by in the morning. I'll introduce you to the TTTS patient then.

* * *

Grace was about to step off the lift at ground level again when Shepherd walked in, blocking her way out. She gritted her teeth but let him do what he wanted, which was pull the stop button just after the lift started.

'You told her.' Shepherd said accusingly, glaring at her.

'Actually, beyond commenting on how long it had taken you to realise I was in Seattle, you were never mentioned when I talked to Addy. I certainly didn't tell her about Meredith.' Grace crossed her arms to try and hide the muscles that were starting to tense. 'Besides, I'm not on her side either.'

Shepherd sneered. 'Yes, your Markie comes first, doesn't he?'

Grace rolled her eyes. 'Get over yourself Shepherd. Mark has been my friend for seventeen years now. And you still don't like that maybe he was capable of having more than you for a best friend?' She laughed slightly. 'You are so petty and juvenile! Grow up already!'

'Like your precious Mark?' He asked loudly. 'Growing up to sleep with his supposed friend's wife?'

'You pushed them together!' Grace said jabbing him in the chest. 'You did nothing but work and Addy was alone, Mark was alone. Is it any wonder they eventually wanted to be alone together?'

Shepherd gritted his teeth and turned away in frustration. 'That doesn't excuse – '

'No, but it is a reason, a valid one. But that didn't give you a reason to start something with Meredith.'

'Meredith has nothing to do with this!' Shepherd cut his hand through the air. 'Nothing!'

Grace laughed derisively. 'Of course she does. You wanted to hurt Addy the way she and Mark hurt you. But it's not like I'd sleep with you, so you picked a random younger girl. It should have ended there! Now, Meredith is the one hurt.' She stopped and sighed, pushing the button to get the lift moving again.

'I care about her.'

'It doesn't matter,' Grace replied just as quietly. 'You betrayed her trust, and people like Meredith, they don't trust easily. Besides, even if you don't want to admit it, part of you still loves Addy, otherwise you wouldn't be so upset by what they did.'

The doors opened and she stepped out. She'd take the stairs.

* * *

Miranda and Grace met each other at the main doors the next morning.

'You look like a truck dragged you to the hospital this morning.' Miranda said with a chuckle.

'You don't look much better,' Grace said as she accepted the hot chocolate from her friend. 'I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours?'

That got a frustrated sigh. 'Damn Rosemary's babies.' Miranda said as they headed towards the surgical changing rooms. 'Yang and Stevens did an unauthorised autopsy on a patient last night while we were with the Chief.'

Grace stopped and just stared at Miranda for a moment before they started walking again.

'Damn fools,' the Nazi said with a frown. 'Luckily for all of us, the patient had a rare genetic problem and they may have saved the daughters life. Got her to sign the right forms.'

'I think I've got you beat.' Grace said after a sip of chocolatey goodness. 'My friend, that I text a lot? His name is Mark Sloan.'

'I know that name…the Plastics guy from…New York?' It was clear Miranda was starting to put pieces in the right places. 'Go on.'

'He and Shepherd have been friends since they were kids. They went to med school together which is where they met Addison, Shepherd's wife.'

'What?!' Miranda said loudly drawing a lot of attention. 'What you looking at? Get back to work!'

Everyone immediately had better things to do.

Grace chuckled and continued. 'Yep. I met them not long after that, or rather I met Mark. I used to spend my weekends in New York, it gave me a change of scene from Boston. Mark and I met at a bar and we just hit it off. We met every weekend and were best friends in no time. Then…' Grace paused slightly. 'Then I was attacked one weekend, on my way to the bar to meet Mark. If he hadn't come looking for me…'

Miranda put a hand on her arm briefly. 'Is that how you met the other two?'

'Yeah, Mark found me, got me to the hospital, and he was freaking out waiting to see what would happen to me. Obviously he called his friends.' Grace smiled as she remembered. 'Addy insisted I stay with her while I recovered. And things went from there.'

'And you and Shepherd?'

'Jealousy, mostly. Mark and I became closer in months than Mark and Shepherd did in years.' Grace chuckled slightly. 'Plus we kind of get a perverse pleasure out of hitting each other's sore spots. But to get to last night. Shepherd was a workaholic, well, they all were, no time for his wife or best friend. So they ended up in bed. First time, and Shepherd walks in on them. He flies out here, Mark persuades Addy to have a go at being together. But a few days ago she agrees to help with the TTTS patient, yesterday she tells Mark she's going to fly here for it and for Shepherd.

'So last night after meeting Addy in the entrance and having a… _talk_ with Shepherd in a lift I went home and called Mark. He was drunk and I only got off the phone a couple of hours ago.'

The two of them came to a stop outside the changing rooms and were silent for a while.

'You win.' Miranda said as she walked in. Leaving Grace to head off, laughing as she did.

* * *

Grace knocked on Richard's door and walked in. 'I come bearing gifts.' She held up a coffee and a bag that held some banana muffins.

'That smells delicious, Gracie.' Richard smiled and shifted the table so he could start on the muffins right away. 'You're handing the TTTS case over to Addie this morning aren't you?'

'Not saying. You, are on sick leave. You have nothing to do with this hospital until Shepherd clears you.'

'But – '

Grace turned back to the door. 'Nope. I'll see you later.'

* * *

Grace was reading the patient file when Addie found her.

'Grace, there you are.' Looking up she found Addie being trailed by Meredith and gave her friend a look. Addie put her hands up. 'I'm being nice.'

'Alright. Morning, Doctor Grey.'

Meredith nodded at her. 'Doctor Mason.' She looked curious but held the questions back.

'We've known each other for years, but I was keeping out of everything. Though I do apologise.'

'It's fine,' Meredith after a moment. 'It wasn't your place.'

Grace nodded and handed Addie the chart. 'Come on, the room is this way.'

Going into the room, Grace smiled. 'Good morning Mrs Phillips, how are you this morning?'

'Doctor Mason, I'm the same as I was last night when you checked.' Julie Phillips managed a slight smile for her.

'Mrs Phillips, this is Doctor Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, the other foetal surgery specialist I told you about. She is going to take over your case from here on.'

Addison shook hands with the patient. 'It's nice to meet you Mrs Phillips.'

'And you,' Mrs Phillips looked between them for a moment. 'Doctor Mason, you never said why you weren't doing the surgery…'

Grace smiled. 'It's not a matter of skill if that's what you're wondering. But I have a nerve problem that prevents me from performing certain, longer, surgeries. You are in good hands with Doctor Montgomery-Shepherd, so, I'll wish you the best and leave you to Addison's capable hands.'

Mrs Phillips nodded and smiled. 'Thank you, Doctor Mason.'

* * *

Wandering down the hall, flipping through a patient file as she did, Grace almost laughed out loud at the cornered and lost look on O'Malley's face.

'O'Malley.'

The puppy jumped and turned to face her. 'Doctor Mason!'

'Something wrong, O'Malley?'

'Er…I…well…'

Grace scowled at the hesitance. 'Spit it out!'

'The Chief is wanting me to spy on everyone and tell him what's going on.'

Rolling her eyes, Grace sighed. 'That man does not know how to take a break.'

O'Malley looked happy at this. 'Could you tell him to not do this to me then? Please? I am not a good sponge, I don't want to be a sponge.'

'I'll ignore that part,' Grace said not wanting to know what he meant. 'And no, I won't, he might be in recovery but he's still the Chief. Go do your job, or tell Bailey.'

And she left him looking like a lost puppy.

* * *

Grace stood next to Miranda, watching Joe's operation after she'd told O'Malley off for dirty thoughts.

'My first day in town.' Grace said not to anyone in particular. 'I'd been here, sorting out paperwork for my internship and I went into the bar afterwards. Joe was there and he threw out the two nurses that were watching me and making snide comments about my scars. Then he gave me a free drink and welcomed me to the city.'


	11. Enough Is Enough

_Author Note - Thank you for the follows/favourites and reviews._

* * *

 _I always find myself caught between saying too much and saying not enough._

* * *

Grace headed towards Richard's room, muffins in hand only to freeze and turn away at the door.

'Grace Mason, you stop right there.'

Slowly turning back, Grace knew she had a nervous smile on her face. 'Adele hi! You're home early…' then she realised, 'Shepherd called you didn't he?'

'He figured someone should let me know that Richard had brain surgery.' Adele's tone was accusing as Grace put the muffins on the table.

'Well, er…Richard bribed me with bourbon to keep quiet!' Grace finished in a rush, pointing at the Chief.

'Grace!' Richard said looking betrayed.

Grace scoffed. 'If I'm going down, you're going down too!'

'Quiet!' Adele said firmly, making them both stop immediately. 'Acting like children, you should be ashamed of yourselves.'

Grace caught Richard's eye and had to quickly look away again before she started laughing.

* * *

Grace met Miranda at the lift. 'I hear you've got a guy that swallowed doll heads?'

'Mmhm,' Miranda said with a disgusted look. 'Ten Judy doll heads.'

'They're like Barbies, right?' Grace asked and got a nod. 'I loved Barbies, I've still got a few of my favourites in a box somewhere. I had the massive dream house and everything.' She stopped when she saw the look Miranda was giving her. 'What?'

'Never figured you for the doll type, that's all.'

Grace shrugged. 'I never had baby dolls, but I liked Barbies.'

'I hear you and the Chief got told off,' now Miranda sounded amused, even had a little smirk on her face.

'Yes,' she replied grumpily. 'Adele is back early, another reason for me to not like Shepherd.'

Miranda was chuckling when the lift arrived. 'Serves you right, thinking either of you could keep this from her.'

* * *

Meredith almost bumped right into her. 'Oh, Doctor Mason, I'm sorry, I didn't see you.'

'It's fine Doctor Grey, I didn't see you either.' Grace waggled the papers in her arms in explanation. She saw Meredith's frustrated expression. 'Everything alright?'

Meredith sighed as they stepped into the empty lift. 'I'm fine.'

Grace turned and looked at her properly. 'Sweetie, I could give a flying fuck what you think of my friends, or enemies for that matter,' she ignored Meredith's shocked look at her swearing. 'Your opinion won't change my opinion of them.'

There was a long pause. 'Derek keeps following me and talking to me and Addison just said I was a good girl for not taking him back and that there are two sides to every story. And I don't want to know! I just want to do my job.'

'And you're good at your job Grey.' Grace said as she stepped out. 'Don't let them take that from you.'

* * *

 _You sobered up yet?_

…

…

 _ **If by sober you mean feeling like truck convoy ran me over, then yes. I'm sober.**_

 _Got a guy with Judy doll heads in his bowel._

 _ **I hate you. Laughing makes my head shriek in terror.**_

 _I got told off by Adele Webber for not telling her the Chief had surgery._

 _ **What did he bribe you with?**_

 _Bourbon._

 _ **Worth it then. How's your day? Aside from the doll guy.**_

 _Well aside from being overly tired, just a normal day. A 21yr old gave birth to a 9 pound 6 baby with nothing but gas and air._

 _ **Seriously?**_

 _Took twelve hours to arrive._

 _ **She needs a medal. And I need to throw up.**_

 _Talk later._

* * *

'What does he mean, he's a sink with an open drain?'

Grace looked up from checking her bag. 'What?'

Addie nodded looking, defeated. 'Derek, that's what he said to me.'

'Maybe…it's like in one ear and out the other?' She suggested with a shrug. 'I dunno, I'll never want to get inside his head.'

'Hm.' Addie stopped at the doorway. 'I just want him to talk to me.'

Grace smiled sadly. 'I know Addie. And maybe he will, but even I can say that right now he has every right to act like this.'

Addie nodded, her eyes glistening slightly. 'Want to get drunk with me?'

'You coming to my place? I just got a bottle of bourbon from Richard.'


	12. Make Me Lose Control

_Another Note - Thank you for the follows/favourites and reviews. Enjoy the next chapter._

* * *

 _One of the hardest parts of life is deciding whether to walk away or try harder._

* * *

Grace wasn't around for Ellis Grey's admittance but she did hear about it very quickly. She got to Richard's office just as Meredith was walking in the opposite direction.

'She told you?' Grace said quietly, making him startle.

'Grace, oh, yes, she did.' Then something occurred to him. 'You're not surprised?'

'I saw her coming out of the home one day, they specialise in this kind of thing. I never told Meredith what I saw though.' She walked in and put a coffee and bagel on the table. 'I was told you escaped, so I brought this. Page me if you need me.'

'Thanks,' Richard said with a nod. 'I will.'

Grace left then, knowing he wouldn't be up for talking much.

* * *

Following the nurse towards the shouting, Grace find Ellis Grey freaking out on O'Malley.

'Please get some haloperidol.'

'Don't you give me that look.' Ellis said spitefully to George as Karev and Meredith came up behind Grace. 'That sad little soulful, little puppy routine. I know it by heart, Thatch, and I'm over it. I don't want to hear about your day, or your students, for your pathetic little research grants! My…' Elis broke off and took a breath. 'My work is what counts. It's what pays for this house. It pays for you and it pays for Meredith. And for your precious lifestyle. So why won't you just leave me alone and let me do it?

Ellis stormed back to her bed and got on it. 'Meredith may think she needs you, but I sure as hell don't.'

Grace felt Meredith walk off as the nurse returned with the sedative. 'I'll take that, Marie.' She walked into the room and over to the bed. 'Doctor Grey, I am Doctor Mason, I've just got to give you this shot, some kind of new surgery procedure.'

Ellis didn't respond to this but she seemed to settle slightly. So Grace didn't need to have O'Malley or Karev hold Ellis while she did the shot.

'Thank you Doctor Grey, someone will be nearby if you need them.'

Grace disposed of the used needle and ushered Karev and O'Malley out. 'Try to find a topic that is familiar and routine to her current state of mind and treating her will be a lot easier.'

O'Malley nodded at her and Grace turned to leave.

* * *

Grace was sat with Miranda the observation room doing paperwork when Izzy came in and sat on the other side of Miranda.

'You have a problem?' Miranda asked after looking at her.

'No.'

'You have a mocha latte and a hot chocolate?'

Izzy seemed confused. 'No.'

'Then go away.'

Izzy chuckled slightly. 'Actually, I need a new assignment. The Shepherds' preemie case is non-surgical.'

'Non-surgical?' Miranda asked with a frown.

'Non-operable.' Izzy elaborated.

'Sucks.' Miranda and Grace said together.

'Yeah.'

'Did you know about Ellis Grey?' Miranda asked Izzy. 'Did Meredith tell you?'

'No.' Izzy scoffed and rolled her eyes. 'It's just, you think you know someone. You know who they are. You share a house or make wishes on eyelashes with them. And we don't know each other. None of us.' Miranda and Grace exchanged an amused look, Izzy not even noticing. 'We're just a bunch of interns who work together. There's nothing there.'

Grace shook her head and glanced back at the OR, frowning when she saw Yang swaying slightly. 'What the…?' Suddenly Yang collapsed, everyone in the observation room stood up, Miranda and Izzy quickly leaving.

Grace looked around and turned the com off. 'Alright everyone clear out and find something else to do.' There was some grumbling but everyone left, Grace headed after Miranda and Izzy.

She caught up in time to hear Yang tell Izzy she was pregnant.

After a pause, Miranda shoved the gurney into the lift, stopping Izzy when she tried to follow. 'No, we're going to pre-op instead. Find Addison Shepherd. And, lzzie, be discreet.'

Izzy looked at her. 'I thought you were in the same specialty? Couldn't you – '

Grace shook her head and set off at a quick pace. 'No, I don't do a lot of surgeries, I have a nerve problem. Addison will be somewhere near the entrance, her shift ended not long ago and with the preemie…she'll be telling the Chief she's leaving.'

'Alright.'

They were just reaching the stairs in the surgical reception when they saw O'Malley, Richard and Addison coming down towards them.

Izzy rushed forwards. 'Excuse me, Doctor Shepherd, we need you. Fast. Um…it's Cristina, one of our interns, she's…she's collapsed.'

O'Malley instantly switched to worried. 'Cristina's collapsed?'

'Why do you need me?' Addison asked with a frown.

Grace snorted. 'Seriously Addie?' She said with a raised brow as the other three finally got it.

'Cristina's pregnant?' George asked in astonishment.

'Shut up George!' Izzy said under her breath. 'Please come.' She said to Addison as they started to walk away.

'This doesn't change anything, Richard. I'm stilling leaving in the morning.' Addie said as they rushed off.

'This is a very bad day.'

Grace looked at O'Malley who was just stood there like a wet fish. 'O'Malley, don't you have a patient to be watching?'

'Y-yes but…' he looked to where Izzy and Addie had disappeared.

'You can find out about Yang later,' Grace said a little more gently. 'There's nothing you can do for her, but you can look after Ellis Grey.'

George nodded. 'Yes, Doctor Mason.' And quickly left.

Grace looked at Richard who was rubbing his head. 'Oprah looking more appealing now?'

Richard just gave her a look before putting his hat back on walking away.

* * *

The NICU was mostly dark as such places always were. Grace quietly went in and found Addie's preemie baby. A quick check of the chart showed that over the day she had somehow gotten stronger.

Grace smiled down at the stirring baby. 'Seems like you're a fighter little one.' She stood there for a while before carefully, minding all the wires and tubes, removed the baby from her crib. Grace sat in the rocking chair she had pulled closer, adjusting her scrub top so she could hold the baby against her skin and then pulling her coat over the top to keep in heat.

Rocking there in the silence, Grace hummed a lullaby under her breath. Perfectly at ease with the motion.

A vibration in her pocket startled her slightly but Grace carefully adjusted her grip to answer it.

'Hello?' She kept her voice soft and quiet.

' _Where are you? Why are you so quiet?'_

'In the NICU and I'm holding a preemie,' Grace told Mark with a smile.

' _What's the chances?'_ He asked after a moment.

Grace's smile grew. 'Well, this morning she was going to just be on pain management until…but somehow she's gotten stronger. So I think she'll get the surgery she needs in the morning.'

' _That's good. I'm glad. How's your day been?'_

'Drama filled,' she said with a laugh. 'One intern's mother came in blowing the secret that she has Alzheimer's, and she has a liver mass, a nurse told me it was benign though. And another intern collapsed in the OR, with an extrauterine pregnancy. She'll be fine in a couple of days, _if_ she rests.'

' _Oh, one of those ones?'_

'Big time, I'm pretty sure she's gonna go with heart stuff.'

' _Heart stuff? Gracie, you realise you graduated top of your class from Harvard, right? You can use big words.'_

'I like the little words,' Grace said as she smiled down at the unseeing baby. 'They usually have more impact. Words, words, words, all they do is make noise and hide the truth. And truth is – '

' _Truth is simple. I know.'_

Grace sighed happily. 'That's why we work so well, Markie. We don't need words to know what we mean. How are you?'

There was a heavy sigh over the phone. _'I just…I don't know anymore.'_

'You want me to pick on them for you?' Grace offered eagerly.

' _Thanks for the offer, Gracie, but no.'_

Grace was disappointed, but at least she had made him laugh.

' _You going to sing a lullaby for her?'_

'Yeah, you staying on the line?'

' _Don't I always?'_

Grace smiled again and started singing.


	13. Deny, Deny, Deny

_Author Note - Thank for all the follows/favourites. And thank you to_ ToshimiOkami _for her wondefully constructive review._

* * *

 _It's not denial. I'm selective about the reality I accept._

* * *

Grace was sat with Miranda in Joe's bar, each of them with a glass of bourbon. Neither really in the mood for talking.

Then Shepherd came and sat on the other side of Miranda. And he started talking as well.

'Meredith kissed me. Addison kissed me.' He included Joe as he brought over a drink for him. 'My wife and my girlfriend kissed me on the same day.'

Miranda looked at Joe. 'Joe. Do we look friendly to you?'

'Oh. Yeah, you're two tiny kittens of joy and love.' They both gave the bartender unimpressed looks. 'What? He saved my life.'

'His first mistake.' Miranda and Grace said together.

Miranda nodded away into the room 'McDreamy, go sit by someone who cares.'

McDreamy ignored the warning. 'Everything's gonna be fine. Addison'll go back to New York,' he paused but otherwise ignored Grace's snort. 'Meredith and I will start over, everything's gonna be fine. Right?'

'You so damn stupid.' Miranda said after a moment, making Grace snigger into her drink.

'I'm pretty sure I'm still your boss.' Shepherd said with a slight smile.

'I'm pretty sure I'm still not scared of you, and I'm not at work.'

'Besides,' Grace said with a smirk. 'I have seniority, you've only been here a couple of months.'

Shepherd just glared at her, but that had never bothered her before.

* * *

Grace was walking along, nose in a chart, when I familiar voice pulled her to a stop.

'You're going to walk into a wall one day.'

Backing up a few steps, Grace grinned into the room. 'Jeremiah!' She walked over to him, smiling. 'Does Miranda know you're here?'

'Yep,' he nodded and waved at the door. 'She just left with an intern, she was bragging about me.' He finished in a confiding whisper.

Grace laughed and grabbed a look at his chart. 'Hm, well you're in good hands, like always. She may call them Rosemary's babies but she has the best interns out of the latest pack. You been good until now?'

'Yeah, I was in Oregon in May, raised 20k.'

'Well, I'm impressed, Miranda's got reason to brag, I can't run to the end of the block without wanting to call a cab.' Grace put the chart back. 'I've got to go, but I'll see you later, yeah?'

'Sure, bring me a story to embarrass Miranda with.'

Grace just laughed as she walked out the hoping, mentally crossing her fingers that he'd pull off another recovery.

* * *

Grace went to Ellis' room hoping that maybe she's be a bit more lucid today. The last couple of times Grace visited, Ellis hadn't known who she was, which was a shame because they'd gotten along pretty well the few times they'd met in Boston.

She walked into the room and stopped at the sight of an empty bed. 'Uh oh.'

'Where is she?' Meredith asked as she also walked in.

'No clue, but O'Malley better have one.'

They stood in silence with their arms crossed for a couple of minutes until Tyler walked in with a machine. 'Uhh, where's your Mom?'

'Exactly. Where is my mother?'

Just then O'Malley walked in. 'Where's your mother?'

'That is the question of the moment O'Malley.' Grace said with a frown.

'Oh crap,' O'Malley groaned as he walked back out.

Tyler shook his head and put the machine in the corner. 'I'll page you when she's found, Doctor Grey.'

'Me as well please, Tyler.' Grace called as he left. 'Well, I was gonna see if she was up for talking, but…I guess I'll try later.'

'I'm going to strangle George if he doesn't find her.'

* * *

'Grace?'

Grace turned round to find Ellis Grey smiling at her, Richard by her side. She walked back over to them. 'Hey there Doctor Grey, how you doing today?'

'Very good, how's your first day as a Resident?'

'Pretty good so far,' Grace accepted the mix up easily. 'Better than as an intern, though I'm sure being an Attending is better still. You get to boss the interns and the residents around. And hog the OR.'

Ellis laughed. 'Tell me about it, I remember my first year as resident I loved bossing the interns around. Now,' she became a little more serious. 'Have you reconsidered having the surgery yet?'

Grace flinched slightly at the sore topic. 'No. I can manage fine as I am, I'm just happy that the hospital is willing to let me train as a surgeon with getting my career as one out of it at the end.'

'You're wasting so much potential, Grace.' Ellis shook her head. 'Will you at least promise to keep it in mind? Perhaps consider it in the future?'

'I promise,' it wasn't the first time she'd done so either. 'I heard they were looking for you upstairs, so I'll let you get off. I've got labs to look at.'

'Alright Grace, I'll see you for lunch then.' Ellis turned towards the lift.

Grace whispered to Richard. 'He lost her again?'

'I've got her now.'

* * *

Sat in the observation room, Grace watched as Miranda, Addie and Meredith operated on Jeremiah. This was going to be a close one. She could feel it.

They'd only been going an hour went it all went downhill.

Miranda started CPR and Grace quickly headed down to the OR floor into the scrub room. She had just put on a mask when Grey swapped out with Miranda.

'Doctor Bailey, his intestines are cyanotic. There's no blood circulating.' Addie said as she walked in.

'Then shunt it to his brain where he needs it,' Miranda said dismissively. 'You call those compressions?' She said to Meredith both taking over again.

The scrub nurses and Meredith made a hole for Grace as she approached. 'Miranda.'

'Fight it. Come on.' Miranda didn't even look at her. The nurse put down the manual ventilator and Miranda looked around. 'Why isn't anyone moving? Who's recording?'

'Miranda,' Grace put a hand on her arm. 'Please, he's gone.'

Addie put her hands over Miranda's. 'It been ten minutes since we had a perfusing rhythm.' She ignored Miranda knocking her hands away. 'It's your call Doctor Bailey.'

Just then the flat line sounded but it took a few beats for it to sink in for Miranda. Then she just stopped.

Miranda took off her mask. 'Asystole. Time of death, 19:26.' She turned and brushed past Grace, tearing off her gown as she went.

Grace looked at Addie. 'Will you…' she paused to take a breath. 'Will you make him presentable? He'd never forgive us if we just…' trailing off she just shook her head and followed Miranda into the scrub room.

She stood in the corner of the room quietly, just watching Miranda as she scrubbed down a lot longer than necessary. Long enough that Jeremiah was tidied and taken away by morgue attendants. Addie and Meredith came into the scrub room as well.

But that was when Miranda left, so Grace followed her, still silent, but unwilling to leave her friend alone.

She followed Miranda until they got to the changing rooms, and then Miranda spoke as she took her phone from her locker.

'I'm, I'm good now. I can…I want to do this part alone.'

Grace just nodded. 'You know how to find me.'

* * *

She was walking past a conference room when she saw Shepherd inside, and even though Grace couldn't read the papers in front of him, she knew what they were. And he was hesitating. Unable to ignore her bleeding heart she knocked and opened the door.

Shepherd looked up and sighed when he saw her. 'Not now Mason I'm not in the mood for – '

'No, I'm not here to poke.' She smiled slightly.

'Then why are you here?' He asked, just looking at the papers.

'I just…I'm still not on your side, but the fact that you're hesitating at all, it means something. Even if you don't know what that is.'

He looked up at her again and after a moment nodded.

Grace nodded back and left.


	14. Bring The Pain

_Author Note - Sorry for the delay - my son was off school for a couple of days due to heavy snow. I would like to point out again that I have no medical knowledge beyond basic first aid. Grace's medical stuff is made up. Enjoy the chapter._

* * *

 _Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain._

* * *

Grace chuckled as Miranda got into the lift. 'So…I hear you've got a guy watching porn today.'

'Don't even,' Miranda said, lifting her hand. 'He's allergic to all pain relief. I had to throw Karev out, then O'Malley, then the other three. Damn Rosemary's babies, the lot of them.'

'I heard something about Naughty Nurses, was it good?' Grace with a casual air.

Miranda spluttered at her. 'You – why I – ' the doors opened and she stepped out. 'You're worse than the interns!'

Grace just laughed as the doors shut and the lift went on its way. It was so rare she got a reaction like that from her friend.

* * *

Grace looked up when she heard a gurney approaching.

'The rookie who let himself get shot. I'm never gonna live this down.' The patient said, he must be the cop that was brought in.

O'Malley hit the button even though it was lit up already. 'Sure, you will.'

'You think?'

Grace chuckled drawing their attention. 'Don't worry officer, nobody expects perfection when you're learning. Not from cops, not from doctors. Your colleagues will just be happy when you recover.'

'Thanks Ma'am,' the cop said with a slight smile.

As the doors opened to reveal an empty lift, Grace got in and stood right in the corner so Karev and O'Malley would have space for the gurney, then she carried on reading her paperwork.

After the doors shut, Karev looked at O'Malley. 'What's the deal with lzzie?'

'She shaved her legs for you.'

'And?' Karev said dismissively.

'And, you didn't even kiss her good night.'

Grace chuckled. 'Ooh, bad.'

The cop on the bed spoke up. 'She shaved her legs for you and you didn't follow through?'

Karev frowned slightly. 'Hey, I always follow through.'

O'Malley scoffed at this. 'You didn't last night.'

'Mind your own business.'

'He lives with them, she made it his business.' Grace said looking up from her paperwork.

O'Malley nodded. 'Exactly, thank you, Doctor Mason.' He looked back at Karev. 'She had expectations. Women have expectations. And you didn't meet them. I live with these women. And every time you guys don't meet their expectations, I have to hear about it. I didn't get any sleep last night. So, you know, it is my business.'

Grace smiled at O'Malley, glad he was sticking up for himself, and not being so puppy like.

Her smiled quickly faded when there was a clatter, the lift stopped and the lights went off. The emergency lighting flicked on after a moment but they weren't moving.

'Dude, we're not moving.' Karev said after a moment.

O'Malley just looked at him. 'Really! You think?'

'The backup will start up in a minute.' Grace said, keeping her breathing steady. 'Hit the alarm button Karev. Let them know we're in here.'

Karev reached over, hit the button…but nothing happened. There was a pause where they all looked at each other, then he hit it again a little harder.

'That is a little more concerning.'

* * *

Grace had shifted to the end of Pete's bed, (she'd looked at his chart to distract herself) to let Karev have some space near the doors to try and pry them open to see if they were near a floor

O'Malley was reading the instructions of the button panel. 'lf elevator should stop, do not become alarmed. Press the button marked 'alarm' for assistance. If they don't want us to be alarmed, why call the button 'alarm'?'

Karev struggled with the door as he spoke. 'That didn't work the last five times. We've lost power. We're stuck here.'

'Karev, relax,' Grace said firmly, but Pete groaned, interrupting them all.

'You OK? His pressure is falling.' O'Malley said before shifting around the bed but Grace had a look before him.

'There's too much blood in here,' she quietly, straightening up again. 'We need to get him to an OR.'

'OK.' Pete said with struggled breaths. 'Don't whisper. I don't want to complain, but I got a bullet in my chest and whispering isn't a sign that I'm going to be A-OK, you know?'

'Just relax Officer Willoughby,' Grace said resting a hand on his leg. 'Just try to keep your breath as steady as you can.'

Karev checked the phone. 'Damn it, it's out.'

'It's bad.' Pete said, looking from her to O'Malley. 'It's bad, right?'

O'Malley spoke as he checked Pete's chest. 'Someone is going to get us out of here. Don't worry.'

Grace resolutely ignored her tensing hands, trying to keep calm and not scare the patients or the interns. Keeping as calm as possible was the only way to avoid eventually triggering a panic attack. Which would not be good while trapped in here.

* * *

It was only a couple of minutes later when they heard sounds at the doors.

'What is that?' Pete asked, obviously worrying.

'It's fine Officer Willoughby, that will be the technicians opening the outer doors, in a moment, they'll open the doors we can see.' She smiled down at the injured young man, trying to be reassuring and keeping her hands out of sight.

Just then the doors opened to barely three inches.

'It's jammed. It won't open.' The technician said, making a wave of panic go through Grace.

'Move.' A familiar voice said.

'This is as wide as it goes.' The technician said as he was all but shoved out the way.

Miranda appeared as she laid on the floor. 'What…what did you three do?'

'Nothing.' Grace replied loudly with Karev and O'Malley.

Burke took Miranda's place. 'How's the patient?'

'He's not looking so good.' O'Malley after glancing at Pete.

Then Burke looked at her. 'Doctor Mason, how are you holding up?'

'I'm…alright for now.' Grace gave him an uneasy smile. 'I'm good.'

They were distracted then as Pete started pulling at his oxygen tube.

Karev was quick to grab his hands. 'Hey, Pete, what are you doing?'

'I have to get home.' Pete responded, not even really hearing Karev.

'Pete, you're in the hospital.' Karev said loudly as O'Malley helped try to hold Pete still.

'Need to get home. Need to get home.'

'What's his blood pressure?' Burke asked when he noticed the struggle.

O'Malley glanced up briefly. 'It's not reading. He's too agitated.'

'How's his pulse?'

Karev responded as he replaced the oxygen tube and secured Pete's arm. 'Thready, but still there.'

'Do you have instruments?'

'They've only got a code box and gloves.' Grace said, having checked, knowing the question was coming.

'You didn't bring an open chest tray?' Burke asked starting to sound annoyed.

Karev shook his head. 'We thought – '

'No time for excuses.' Burke swapped his gaze to O'Malley. 'O'Malley, blood pressure.'

O'Malley had managed to get the cuff on Pete's arm. 'I've taken it three times.'

'And?' Burke asked when O'Malley stopped.

'I can't hear a systolic over 50.' There was quiet as Pete groaned and wheezed. 'He's gonna die.'

Grace locked eyes with Burke, both of them knowing what had to happen.

'lntubate him. I'll be back.'

'Where are you going?' George said urgently.

Burke's face briefly reappeared. 'To get an instrument tray. You guys are going to have to open up his chest.'

The interns looked at each other, and then at her.

'You heard him, intubate your patient.'

They started with that as George spoke to her. 'He said…I don't think he was including you in what he said.'

Grace chuckled slightly and held up her shaking hands as they clenched and unclenched. 'There's a reason I don't do many operations, and why no to no talking is allowed in my OR and why the Chief tries very hard to never move my ops around.' They got Pete intubated and George began manually ventilating him.

'I was injured,' Grace continued, taking deep breaths to try and calm down. 'Now, stress causes a shift in my brain chemistry that causes this reaction, and it'll gets worse the longer I'm stressed. Burke will most likely be bringing back a mild sedative for me.'

'What?' George said with wide eyes. 'Why?'

'Because me having a full blown panic attack in here would not be good.'

They fell back into silence until Burke reappeared, startling them a bit.

'Hey, this isn't gonna be too sterile, but we can still try.' He pushed surgical covers through the hole. 'Prep and drape the patient. But first, give this sedative to Doctor Mason.'

George took the injection and looked at it. 'Yes, sir.'

Grace shifted her coat and top to reveal her shoulder and held as still as she could while George injected her. 'Thanks George,' Grace said when the sedative started to take effect. The false calm settled over her, making her relax and her clenching almost completely stop.

George nodded and went back to helping Karev prep Pete for the impromptu surgery.

Once they were all gowned and masked, Grace having needed help from George to do so, it seemed to really sink in for Karev.

'We're really gonna do this.'

Burke then held a couple of instruments threw the gap towards Karev. 'Take these.' For a long moment Karev just looked at him. 'Karev, take the scalpel.'

But the intern seemed to have glitched somehow.

'Alex! Come on.' George said when Karev looked at him. 'Alex!' After another long moment, with Karev still stalling, George thrust the ventilator at him. 'Ventilate! I got it!' He moved and took the instruments.

'Are my patients okay? Cause I was supposed to be…somewhere…' Grace started very loud and trailed off when she couldn't grab hold of what she'd been thinking. Part of her mind was saying this wasn't the best time, but…she was drugged.

However, Burke just smiled at her slightly. 'Your patients are fine. Doctor Bailey made sure that someone you trust took charge. But for now you just need to focus on your breathing, keep calm and let me talk the interns through this operation.'

He slow, steady voice, got through to Grace and she nodded, going silent again.

'What do I do?' George asked after a moment.

'Make a large anterior, lateral, midaxillary incision. In the fifth inter costal space.'

Grace lost track of things a bit, only hearing the occasional word as she focused on her breathing.

'Just try to ignore her. She's fine.'

'Miranda?' Grace said looking up from her hands.

Burke shifted just enough so that Grace could see Miranda over his shoulder.

'I'm here, we were just enjoying your song.' Miranda said with a smile. 'How you doing?'

Grace nodded a few times. 'Good, good, I think I'm drugged though, but my hands aren't weird no more, and I think I was singing to Georgie.'

'I don't mind, Doctor Mason.' George said without looking up. 'You have a nice voice and it was a lovely song.'

'Okay dokay,' Grace said with a wide smile, before getting distracted by her normal hands again.

'Does that always happen when she's sedated?'

'Just be glad we didn't give her morphine.'

* * *

Grace was laid across a couple of chairs in the surgical waiting room. Miranda had told her to stay there so she could keep an eye on Grace while the sedative left her system.

'You okay there, Doctor Mason?'

Grace looked up, rubbing her eyes a bit. 'Yeah, yeah,' she said to George with a tired smile.

'Good, I'm glad,' he nodded with his own wide smile. 'I just wanted to say, well I know you weren't doing it deliberately but…the singing was nice. It kinda reminded me of when I was little…and my Mom would sing to us when we were sick. So…' he trailed off, a bit embarrassed.

'There's nothing wrong with that, I'm glad I could help despite being high as a kite.'

George chuckled slightly and nodded. 'Okay, erm…do you, do you miss it?'

'Miss what?' Grace asked as she shut her eyes again. George sitting on the table next to her.

'Operating.'

Grace was quiet for a minute while she thought. 'Not really, I miss…when I can't help my patients like that, but not really the operating itself. Besides, if I really wanted, I could have an operation to fix it.'

'Really? So why don't you?

'I'd need part of my brain and spine operated on, there a high risk of paralysis.' Grace opened her eyes again and turned her head towards George. 'I'd rather be able to help my patients a bit, than not at all.'

George nodded again. 'I get that.' He paused and chuckled. 'I had my finger in a heart.'

Grace chuckled with him. 'That you did, George. And you did a brilliant job.'

'Thank you, Doctor Mason.'

'Mm, now, go get me a hot chocolate would you?' Grace sighed sleepily. 'I need a sugar rush, just tell whoever you get it from it's for me and they'll fix it how I like.'

'Of course, I'll be right back with it.'


	15. Into You Like A Train

_Author Note - I've been asked when Mark comes into the story as more than just a presence via calls/texts. It will be Ch. 32. But considering this is an 80 chapter story there will be plenty of Mark screen time for you all. Enjoy._

* * *

 _Strength means recognising that it is impossible to be strong all the time._

* * *

After long hours of juggling the board and fielding all the minor stuff for the Chief, Grace was ready to head back to her own department to check on the latest arrivals and touch base with Addison.

Grace was in getting in the same lift as Miranda and Shepherd after they had spoken to Bonnie's fiancé. She had seen them across the room and couldn't help but be grateful that she dealt with beginnings, and rarely saw any endings.

They were the only people in the lift and Derek was starting to lose it.

Without saying anything, Miranda reached out and pulled the stop button. He turned to the corner resting his hands on the rail, his head low. Neither Grace nor Miranda moved or said anything until he pulled himself together and turned back.

'Okay?' Grace said quietly, her hand on the button.

Derek nodded. 'Yeah.'

The lift finished its journey and let them out without anything else being said.


	16. Thanks For The Memories

_Author Note - Due to the very short Ch. 15 I'm uploading this chapter at the same time. So go back and read the previous chapter if you haven't already._

* * *

 _Being grateful means appreciating who and what you have today._

* * *

'I missed a heart catching fire?' Grace said, as she stood looking down on reception with Miranda.

'Mmhm.'

'And an adult teratoma?' She asked after sipping her drink.

'Mmhm.'

'And a guy fell five storeys and only killed a pigeon?'

'Yep, O'Malley stills goes on about that one.'

'And you finally told the Chief you're pregnant.' Grace chuckled at that one. 'I can't believe he didn't notice before now.'

Miranda snorted. 'Damn man is as blind as a bat.'

Grace finished the last of her hot chocolate. 'Well, that's the last time I take a vacation. But at least I've got a tan.'

'Just in time for Thanksgiving,' Miranda said with a laugh as they went separate ways.

* * *

'Have you seen the Nazi?'

Grace looked up from the paperwork she was doing at the nurse's station. 'Not lately…you must be Doctor Kent, from Mercy West. I'm – '

'I don't care,' Kent said dismissively. 'Just tell the Nazi I'm looking for him?'

Grace exchanged a look with the nurse that was beside her. 'Yes sir, I'll tell…him as soon as I see him.'

Kent walked off without another word.

'Bailey manoeuvred him into doing all the sutures in the pit while she's sorting the surgeries.'

Grace snorted. 'Sounds about right.'

* * *

'Adele will kill you.' Grace laughed when Richard jumped.

'Do not call her,' he said as he turned back to the board.

Grace just smiled and walked away.

'I mean it Grace! You better not throw me under the bus again!'

* * *

Grace saw George in one of the pit bays as she was passing through and stopped. Knocking on the door, she walked in with a smile.

'Hey there Doctor O'Malley, everything alright?'

'Doctor Mason, yes everything is fine, thanks.' George paused and then gestured at his patient. 'Oh, this is my Dad, Dad this is Doctor Mason, she's an Attending here, so she's my boss's boss.'

'Nice to meet you Doctor,' Mr O'Malley said happily as she moved towards his head.

Grace grinned and shook his offered hand. 'And you Mr O'Malley, I must say you have raised an amazing young man. George is a brilliant Doctor.'

'Thanks very much Doc. Georgie was just telling me he did heart surgery an elevator.'

'That he did, he saved a cop's life,' Grace was more than happy to brag about George to his Dad. 'All the while dealing with the Attending in the corner drugged up to keep her from having a panic attack.'

Mr O'Malley blinked a couple of times but George jumped in before he could speak.

'You were fine Doctor Mason, I already said you didn't bother me,' George turned to his Dad and he continued picking out what appeared to be birdshot. 'Doctor Mason has a nerve thing Dad, but she's an amazing Doctor, I don't think I've heard a single person say anything bad about her since I've been here.'

Grace laughed at that. 'Clearly you haven't talked to my interns George.'

'I wouldn't know what you're talking about Ma'am.'

'Sure, sure,' Grace smiled back at Mr O'Malley. 'Well, I'll leave you to your son's excellent care, it was nice to meet you sir.'

'You too Doctor Mason, happy Thanksgiving.'

'And to you as well,' Grace smiled at George as she left.

* * *

Grace chucked her bag on the sofa and pulled her phone from her pocket.

'Hello?' She shoved the phone between her ear and shoulder to get her shoes off.

' _Hey, you just getting home?'_

A smile filled her face at the sound of Mark's voice. 'Yep, a nice quiet day for me. You?'

' _A couple of Thanksgiving muck ups, nothing major. Hasn't stopped raining though. We only got back yesterday and already I'm missing Hawaii.'_

'Tell me about it, but hey, at least we have amazing tans to make everyone jealous.' Grace tossed her jacket over a dining chair, and wandered towards the bedroom at the back of her loft conversion. 'It only started raining as I was leaving though, so it's not so bad for me.'

' _Well I was lucky enough to not miss out on anything special, you?'_

'A heart caught fire, an adult teratoma and a five story fall that only killed a bird.'

' _It caught fire?'_ Mark's astonishment was clear.

Grace started stripping her clothes off, getting into an old t-shirt that actually belonged to Mark. 'Yeah, and when her husband found out he laughed, said she was never going to die and left Burke and O'Malley literally holding the woman's bag.'

' _Haha! Oh that is brilliant. O'Malley's the elevator intern, right?'_

'That's the one. I saw him today at the hospital actually. Picking birdshot out his Dad's ass. I'm so getting the full story next time I see him.'

'Turkey hunting?'

Grace wandering into the kitchen area of the main room. 'Meh, probably, I saw some camo clothes on a chair so…' she pulled a bottle of bourbon from the cupboard and grab a plate of finger food she'd made that morning from the fridge. 'So, you got your booze?'

' _Yep. Got your food?'_

'Yep.' Grace settled on her sofa, turning the hi-fi on to quietly play in the background.

' _Okay, so my turn first this year. I am…thankful for Ma Shepherd and the plate of food she dropped off this morning so I don't have to cook.'_

'I am grateful for cab drivers working on holidays so I didn't have to walk half an hour in the rain to get home.'

' _Mm, this turkey is so good. Okay, I am grateful for people who are obsessed with looking good.'_

Grace laughed at that. 'I am grateful for unprotected sex making sure I have a job.'

' _Ha! I'm grateful for the Hawaiian sun.'_

'I'm grateful for sandy beaches and cool drinks.'

' _I'm grateful for bikinis.'_

'I can hear you drooling Mark Sloan. I'm grateful for well-defined men.'

' _Well, I don't mean to brag…'_

Grace snorted and nearly choked on her carrot stick. 'So modest, love.'

' _I was raised to not tell lies, Gracie. Your turn.'_

'I'm grateful for that stuffy day in New York.' Grace said softly.

' _Me too. I'm grateful for friends, even if I don't have many at the moment.'_

Grace could hear the hurt in his voice. 'I'm grateful for you. For the way you've always made me smile, for how you know just how to make me laugh even when I want to cry. For you being there even when I tried to push you away. I'm grateful for having the most amazing man in the world as my best friend, for someone who just makes me whole.'

There was a long silence and a quiet sniff. _'Thanks Gracie, I'm grateful for you too, always have been, always will be.'_

'Always and forever, right?'

' _Always and forever.'_

* * *

 _Author Note - Some fluffy Mark/Grace for you. Hope it's an acceptable compromise for a lack of Mark's physical presence._


	17. Much Too Lonely Heart

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/favourites. Enjoy the next chapter._

* * *

 _Caring too much is what I'm good at._

 _It's better to be alone, than in bad company._

* * *

Grace grinned when she met Addie coming down the stairs. 'So, now I have to share all my shiny toys with you.'

'Well, you've always been good at sharing.' Addie agreed with a smile. 'So, did you enjoy your holiday? Hawaii, right?'

'Yes, and it was brilliant,' Grace said with a happy bounce to her step. 'We enjoyed two weeks of beaches, sun, cocktails and dancing the night away. And we both got amazing tans to show for it.'

Addie smiled back at her. 'I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves then. So, quints?'

Grace held up the chart. 'Got her settled while you were doing the paperwork with Richard.'

'We are going to make an excellent team, Gracie.'

* * *

Burke smiled at her when they met in the lift. 'Good morning Grace, how are you?'

'Preston, I'm good, you?'

'I'm good as well.'

Grace looked at him closely. 'You seem…perkier than you usually show. If you don't mind me getting a bit personal.'

'I don't mind. Though you've been quite perky as well since you got back from your holiday.' Preston grinned down at her. 'Same time every year as well.'

'Every year my best friend and I book two weeks off and pick somewhere to go, just the two of us. This year it was Hawaii.'

Preston nodded. 'Sounds nice, do any surfing?'

'Nope. Dancing was as much exercise we got.'

'What's her name? Does she live in Seattle?'

Grace chuckled as she walked off the lift. 'His name is Mark Sloan and he's from New York.'

* * *

'So,' Grace said to Miranda slowly. 'I hear a certain intern broke a man's penis.'

Miranda grumbled under her breath before replying. 'If I didn't like my job so damn much, I'd give the Chief a come-to-Jesus for landing me with that group.'

* * *

Grace was getting on the lift to leave for the night when Karev stormed over and hit the call button a few times, hard.

'You okay, Karev?'

'Fine.' He bit out, making her raise an unimpressed eyebrow at him. 'Sorry, Doctor Mason,' he said mostly sincere as they got into the lift.

'We're all entitled to having a bad day, just be careful you don't take it out on the wrong people.'

Karev could hear the warning very easily. 'Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, it's just…' he broke off and shook his head.

'This anything to do with the Chief?' Grace asked quietly, mindful of the two paeds interns at the back of the lift. Karev looked at her sharply and she shrugged. 'He's my friend, he unloads his worries to me sometimes. He's worried you'll let it get to your head.'

Karev scoffed slightly. 'It's just – ' he paused as the lift opened at the other two interns left. 'It's just Izzie. I did something I shouldn't have because I was so worried about…ugh, it doesn't matter.' He turned and pace the lift a bit.

Grace smiled a bit, realising that at one rumour about the on call rooms was accurate today. 'You're a good Doctor, Karev, and you could be brilliant. This is just a pothole,' she stepped out as the doors opened. 'Don't let it turn into a roadblock.'

* * *

Surprisingly, despite having almost nothing to do with the quints, Grace was very busy with other appointments. There seemed to have been a bit of a baby boom lately. Grace attributed it to the fact that the summer had been rainier than usual. More reason to stay inside.

* * *

As the lift doors opened Grace paused when Izzie walked out without saying anything or looking anywhere other than forward.

Grace saw the reason as she stepped into the lift. 'You alright Olivia?'

'Yeah, yeah,' Olivia nodded sadly. 'I just…I didn't realise they were a couple, you know? I mean everyone has seen them flirting, but…' she stopped and shook her head. 'Sorry Doctor Mason, you don't need to hear this.'

'It's fine, I don't mind.' Grace gave the nurse a kind smile. 'Just try to keep your head up, focus on the job and worry about the rest later.'

Olivia was smiling a bit when the doors opened again and she stepped out. 'Okay, thank you Doctor Mason.'

* * *

'You remember what Richard did to me when I was an intern?' Addie as they stood near the coffee cart.

'You didn't speak to him for almost a year.'

Addie nodded. 'I think I need to do it with Stevens.'

Grace stayed quiet for a moment. 'Make her see what it made you see.' Addie nodded silently. 'I don't think she'll like you at all afterwards, but…she needs to learn how to care without being too close.'

'Just like I did,' Addie said with a sigh. 'This could break her, Gracie, is it worth the risk of losing such a promising Doctor?'

'Addie, we both know, if Richard hadn't done it to you, you would have burnt out after a couple of years – at most. Stevens needs to learn to keep her heart away from things, otherwise, this is going to ruin her. And I don't think she'd be able to come back from it.'

Addie nodded again. 'You're right. I don't want you to be, but you are.'

Grace smiled at her friend and lightened the mood. 'When will you learn, Addie? I'm always right.'

It did the job and made Addie laugh as they walked back in the direction of the NICU.

* * *

Later Grace met Addie at lift, both on their way out. Grace could see Izzie going back into the quints' room down the hall.

'You good?' She asked quietly.

'No, but she's needs it.'

Grace stepped into the lift with her friend, leaning against each other slightly.

* * *

She met Derek in the lift the next day. Both of managing to smile politely at one another.

'Addie did to Stevens what Richard did to her.' Grace said after a moment.

Derek looked at her in surprise. 'Oh, do you think it'll work?'

'I saw Grey and Stevens leaving together and…I think it will but…you never know.'

'No, you never do,' Derek agreed quietly. 'How's your day been?'

Grace smiled. 'Quiet, easy. You?'

'Not too bad, had to talk with Karev about Mr Martin, he should be alright.'

'Yeah,' Grace's smile turned sad. 'Kira Brown…you never forget do you.'

'No, you don't.'

Grace nodded as she stepped out the lift. 'She's lonely Derek,' she looked back at him. 'I'd never tell you what to do, but…she's lonely.'


	18. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

_Missing someone is your heart's way of reminding you that you love them._

* * *

Grace handed over the bag to Miranda as they walked into the hospital together.

'What is…?' Miranda looked into the bag that was more full than usual. 'How many of these damn things have you made this year?' She asked after seeing a dozen fully decorated Christmas cookies.

'I was off yesterday and I didn't get much sleep last night, Mark got an interesting case and called me at four to tell me about it.' Grace lifted her hot chocolate. 'This actually has an expresso mixed into it.'

Miranda stopped and stared at her. 'Should I be worried?'

'There's a box with some at the Maternity, NICU and Surgical nurse's stations as well as one in the pit. They've all got about three dozen cookies in. Plus, I made a box for the Chief to take home for him and Adele and I made some for Addie and Derek. This is my second expresso chocolate, I just happened to meet you coming back in.'

'Please. Do not. Have. Any. More.' Miranda said slowly and carefully. 'No more.'

Grace just smiled and walked off.

'I mean it Grace!'

* * *

'Doctor Mason?'

Grace stopped humming and bouncing in place to turn around. George was stood behind her in the lift. 'Hello George, I didn't see you there. How are you today?'

'I'm…good? And you?' George seemed very confused by her…energetic demeanour.

'I'm operating on caffeine today George, it's Christmas, I made cookies – want one?' She held out the bag in her hand and George hesitantly took one. 'I have no cases that have any obvious problems and it isn't raining too much. It's a good day today.'

The doors opened and George walked out backwards. 'Thank you, I'll…see you around Doctor Mason…?'

'Bye George!' Grace told him with a wave.

* * *

'You've had coffee,' Addie said accusingly when they crossed paths in the hall.

'Hey Addie!' Grace said with a smile. 'Did you get the cookies I left on your desk? I didn't decorate them too much since I know what Derek's like.'

'Yeah I got – '

'Oh, if you see Miranda tell her I left her box with Debbie at the nurse's station.'

'I will, but you – '

Grace bounced into the lift as it opened. 'Gotta go Addie, I'll see you later!'

* * *

Grace came up behind Preston and dangled a bag in front of his face. 'Here you go!'

'Son of - !' Preston jumped and turned around in about one second flat. 'Grace!'

'I made cookies! This is your share, a half dozen. Enjoy!'

* * *

Derek stepped into the lift she was on and Grace made a concentrated effort to not bounce, or talk or sing Christmas songs. She'd already heard from Addie that he wasn't in the holiday mood at the moment, and given that she was, she was trying to be nice.

'Are you alright there, Grace?' Derek asked after watching her for a moment.

'Yep all good!' She darted out the doors as soon as they opened, Jingle Bells already passing her lips.

* * *

Grace walked into Derek's surgery with a mask in place. 'You paged me, Doctor Shepherd?'

'An odd request for you, but in the spirit of the holiday, I'm wondering if you would help anyway, even though it's me asking.'

Everyone kept glancing between them, the whole hospital knew they didn't have the best relationship.

'Well, ask away.' Grace said with a smile. 'I'm also hyped on coffee so that can only help your case.'

'Oh I know that, everyone was warned by Bailey five minutes after she found out.' Derek replied with a chuckle. 'I was wondering, if you would perhaps sing some Christmas carols for us, or Hanukkah songs if there are any that you know.'

Grace went wide eyed. 'That has to be the weirdest thing to every come out your mouth and that includes that fourth of July party three – '

'We don't need to share that Grace.'

'Okay, okay.' She moved to an empty part of the room near Derek. 'I'll sing some songs for you.'

* * *

Grace stood a way off chuckling at the sight off George telling off his patient's family. She'd been hearing complaints about them from the nurses all day.

When Miranda walked away from them, Grace joined her. 'You loved that.'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Miranda looked at her as they walked. 'You cooled off now?'

'Yeah,' Grace said with a wave of her hand. 'wore off a while ago while I was singing Christmas carols in Derek's OR.'

'Good, 'cause you are very scary when you've had coffee.' Miranda chuckled. 'You just about sent O'Malley into a panic attack. He came running to me saying you'd been roofied or something. Then Addison went the long way round, twice, to avoid you, you gave Burke a heart attack, and the nurses have been begging me to give you a sedative.'

'Merry Christmas!' Grace said with a laugh as she headed a different way.

* * *

Grace got out of the cab outside her loft and wished the guy a merry Christmas before turning and stopping at the sight before her.

'Don't I get a merry Christmas too, Gracie?'

With a delighted squeal, Grace leapt into Mark's arms and hugged him tightly. 'Markie! What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?'

'And ruin the surprise?' Keeping a hold of her, Mark pulled her keys from her hand and unlocked the door. After grabbing his bag, he walked, shut and locked the door again and walked up the stairs that were open straight into the kitchen/living room. 'I was sat missing you this morning and I figured, what the hell, and I hopped on a plane.'

Grace dropped her legs again and smiled up at him. 'How long?'

'Just two days. You going to call in sick?' He grinned wickedly at her.

'Oh yeah, I think I'm coming down with something,' she gave a fake cough. 'Can't go in like this. What a shame.'

Mark adopted a solemn air. 'It's a tragedy.'

They both started laughing at the same time.

'Okay, you know where the bathroom is, go shower, 'cause you stink a bit – '

'So do you!' Mark objected as he chucked his bag into a corner.

' – and I'll start some food while you do. Then I'll shower while you finish the food.'

'Good plan, you've got bourbon right?' Grace gave him a look. 'Of course you do, you lush.'

'Scoot, or I'll keep it for myself.' She turned to the fridge with a laugh only to startle when Mark's arms wrapped around her from behind.

'It's good to see you, Gracie, really good.' He said softly, his chin resting on her head.

Grace squeezed his hands. 'You too, Mark.'

* * *

A delicious smell lured Grace out of bed on Christmas morning. She made a sleepy detour, to the bathroom, doing her business and brushing her teeth before going to the kitchen area to find Mark setting breakfast on dining part of the kitchen counter.

'You made pancakes?' Grace asked with a soft smile when Mark spotted her.

'Of course.' Mark pulled a chair out and ushered her into it before sitting beside her. 'Blueberry, with chopped bananas and strawberries – your favourite.'

With a happy giggle Grace dropped a kiss on his cheek. 'Merry Christmas, Markie.'

'Merry Christmas, Gracie.' He said, copying her gesture before the both focused on eating.

It was a brilliant breakfast, followed by presents and watching Christmas movies, and Christmas dinner, with lots of booze, too many sweets and chocolates, board games they both cheated at and singing too loud before they both went back to bed. Snuggling together like they always did when they visited each other, enjoying every second, loving every moment.

Right up until Mark caught the last flight back to New York on Boxing Day.

* * *

 _Author Note - There you go a little actual Mark for you. I'd love to know how you think he permanently come into the story._


	19. Begin The Begin

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/favourites and reviews. Enjoy the next chapter._

* * *

 _The thing about new beginnings is that they require something else to end._

* * *

Grace scowled when she saw one of her interns. 'You, go home.'

'Doctor Mason?'

'You heard the announcement, eighty hours. I already limited to ninety but you just hit your 83rd hour. Go home.'

The intern looked down at the charts she was holding. 'But – '

'Now.' Grace said in a low voice.

'Yes, Ma'am.' And she was gone.

Doctor Kay chuckled across the room gaining her attention. 'How many are you on, Kay?'

'I'm in the sixties Doctor Mason,' he replied with a grin. 'I'm not stupid enough to risk your ire by going over.'

Grace chuckled as they headed into the next patient's room.

* * *

'Hey, Addie,' Grace as the lift doors opened and her friend stepped out.

'Morning, Grace,' Addie replied with a smile as she walked off and Grace got on the lift.

'Derek, morning.'

Derek nodded at her. 'Grace, didn't see you much over the holidays, how have you been?'

'Good, kept busy. You?'

'Not too bad. Addie doesn't like the trailer.' He said with a slight smile, Grace knew there was more to that, she talked with Addie after all, but didn't say anything. 'Do anything special?'

Grace shrugged and spoke carefully. 'Same as I usually do, put up too many decorations, spent time with…friends,' the air grew tense at the unmentioned name. 'Drank too much, made some resolutions that probably won't last past January. Oh, I said thanks for picture frame, right?'

'Yes,' Derek said with a tight smile. 'You mentioned it last week. And the hamper you put together was great, I loved the marinade for fish you made me.'

'Good, I'm glad. Did Addie like the tea blend I got?'

Derek nodded as he stepped out of the lift. 'Yeah, you know how she loves tea before bed. I'll see you later.'

'See you.'

* * *

Grace sat in the seats behind Miranda on the flight to Twin Falls, Idaho. She'd been talking with a doctor there and was taking copies of case studies over for him since the opportunity presented itself.

She was reading a medical journal and saw Yang staring at Miranda's stomach from the corner of her eye. Then she saw Miranda open her eyes and catch the intern staring.

'Yang. Why are you staring at my fat pregnant belly?'

Grace withheld sniggers as Yang apologised.

'Sorry. I…' Yang trailed off and looked out the window.

Grace exchanged a knowing look with Miranda through the gap in the seats, but neither of them said anything. 'Not fat, by the way, just pregnant.'

'I'm carrying an extra thirty pounds – '

'Twenty eight.'

Miranda glared at her. 'And I'll damn well call myself fat if I want to!'

Grace pulled a packet from her bag and held it over the top of the seats. 'Strawberry muffin?' Knowing full well that Miranda wouldn't resist. Anything strawberry flavoured disappeared quick around Miranda since she'd been pregnant.

'You're still annoying,' Miranda said as she snatched the bag from her hand.

* * *

On the flight back, Grace was experiencing déjà vu.

'Yang.'

Yang looked away, and then back. 'You know what's wrong with having an 80-hour limit? It protects the weak. It levels the playing field. Which not only sucks, it's-it's dangerous.'

Grace wondered where the hell this random topic came from.

'Eighty-hour work week?' Miranda said slowly. 'That's what's on your mind?' They all knew it wasn't and after a moment Miranda continued. 'I thought about it. Not keeping it.'

Yang looked at her hands briefly. 'You did?'

'My husband and I, we tried for years. But still, when that stick turned blue…You can't work the way we work, you can't want the kind of careers that we want and not take…pause. I took pause.'

'You paused?' Yang asked, hanging onto every word.

'I paused. I paused a very long time.' Miranda trailed off, caught in her thoughts.

Yang waited a moment. 'So, why did you…?'

'I sat up one night, the middle of the night…and I knew, I could do this.' Miranda shifted slightly, her tone changing a bit lighter. 'I still don't know how I'm gonna do this, but…I knew I could do it. You just have to know. And when you don't know, no one can fault you for it. You do what you can, when you can, while you can. And when you can't, you can't.'

Yang nodded slightly and caught Grace's gaze.

'It was my last year of med school, just a one night stand where I forget to be careful. But I was determined to finish, and determined pursue my career. But then I was attacked and I lost him, so it wasn't on the books for me.'

'You…you didn't pause?' Yang asked hesitantly.

Grace chuckled sadly. 'Quite a few times. I would just stop, and wonder what the hell I was doing. But I wanted him more than the uncertainty scared me. And afterwards…' She stopped and smiled at Cristina. 'In my line of work, I've dealt with situations like Doctor Bailey's, I've dealt with situations like mine and I've dealt with situations like yours. Everyone deals with it differently, and every reaction, every decision is valid.'

Yang nodded again and went back to looking out the window.


	20. Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

_The truth will always be the truth. Even if no one believes it._

* * *

Grace was in early, having got a call that one of her patients was on the way in. She was walking past the nurse's station when Debbie, one of the head nurses, stopped her and spoke quietly.

'We're given the Chief notification of a strike at the end of the day. And if he doesn't do something drastic, there will be a sick out for the second shift.' She nodded at Grace's wide eyes and then walked off again.

Grace just stood for a minute before quickly walking off, plans to reschedule appointments for the next few days already filling her mind.

* * *

'Miranda!' Grace said as she caught up with her and Izzie at the lift. 'You alright?'

Miranda glared at her. 'Just Braxton Hicks, I'm fine.'

'Did Addie already tell you the answer to that or do I need to say it?'

'I'm fine, I'm a surgeon, I can deal with a little pain.' Miranda said as she stepped into the lift with her intern. 'Now go do your job! You're not getting your godson yet!'

Grace laughed, relaxing a bit, as the doors slid shut.

* * *

'Have a word with him,' Patricia said as she walked past. Jabbing a thumb in the direction of the OR board.

Grace chuckled already knowing who she'd see when she rounded the corner. 'What did you say to annoy Patricia?'

Richard grunted. 'Nothing. What do you think?' He nodded at the board. 'Isn't this a beautiful board?'

'It's a crowded board,' she continued, ignoring his groan. 'There is little time between ops – '

'Meaning we get more patients seen to.'

' – Meaning the scrub nurses have to rush to sterilise and clean everything. Meaning the floor nurses have to find spaces for new patients when the old ones aren't even out the door yet. Meaning the orderlies are getting inundated with used linens and are overworked keeping up.' Grace stopped and jabbed his chest. 'Meaning – all the nurses are overworked, rushed and getting pissed off. Pissed off nurses is bad news.'

Grace gave him a long look before putting a coffee in his hand and leaving.

She was glad the nurses liked her enough to give her time to reschedule things. And there was no way in hell she'd piss them off by blabbing about the strike beforehand.

* * *

Grace looked at the chart in her hand. 'She's seventy-four.'

'Yes, Doctor Mason,' her intern said hesitantly.

'She's had a full hysterectomy _years_ ago.' Grace looked into the room where the old woman had been temporarily placed. 'Why the hell is she here for a prolapsed uterus then?'

'She won't leave,' a nearby nurse said. 'At least that's what one of the surgicals told me.'

'Thanks, Fiona.' Grace smiled at the nurse and then started flipping through the chart to see who sent her up here. 'O'Malley. Damn Rosemary's babies!' She took a deep calming breath. 'Doctor Hayton, take the patient back to the surgical floor, make sure they know it's impossible for her to prolapse without even having a uterus. And make sure O'Malley knows _I_ know what he's done.'

Grace shut her eyes briefly as the woman started singing.

Good air in, bad air out.

* * *

Grace was sat on the steps near the OR board, watching Richard wipe it clean, smiling and drinking her hot chocolate, Burke was leaning against the railing watching as well.

Derek came around the corner and saw them. 'Strike?'

'Strike.' Preston said in reply.

The Chief turned as looked at the two men. 'You are all a bunch of arrogant surgeons.'

As he walked off they just looked at each other, then Derek saw her.

'What are you smiling about?'

'Let me ask you something. Have either of you ever seen me have a problem with misplaced charts, slow labs, unmade beds…anything that's sorted by the nurses, or orderlies, or lab techs?'

'Well, I haven't been here long but…no. Why?'

'Preston?' Grace asked with a smile.

Preston shook his head slowly. 'Now that you mention it…I can't think of a single thing like that happening to you.'

'It's because I like the nurses, I appreciate what they do, I make sure they know how much I appreciate them, I know their names, I know how to do things so they have less work and I acknowledge the fact that without nurses, hospitals don't work.'

Grace stood and walked down the steps to stand in front of them. 'In short gentlemen, this isn't a big issue to me, because I had notice to reschedule everything I could, so that I don't have to work with nurses who don't know me. Enjoy the chaos, I know I will.' She walked off laughing.


	21. Break On Through

_Author Note - Thank for all the follows/favourites and reviews. I love knowing people are enjoying the story._

* * *

 _You go right up to the line. Some people are obviously crossing over it._

* * *

Grace chuckled as Yang got pelted by food, listening to Izzie's complaints. Just as Izzie was about to go forward, Grace went first.

And not one piece of food came her way. Not one of the nurse jeered at her.

In the entrance Yang was staring at her. When Izzie finally came in she also stared at her.

'That's why it pays to be nice to the nurses.' Grace said with grin.

* * *

Grace was stood beside Derek and Preston, trying not to chuckle as they struggled to find what they needed.

'Where's Edmund's chart?'

'I need vitals.'

Patricia came over and interrupted the complaints. 'You know why I stopped being a nurse? Doctors. Doctors who don't know how to pitch in. You should all take a page from Doctor Mason's book.' Patricia smiled at Grace and then walked off.

Grace took the chart she'd been waiting for from the nurse. 'Thanks…Rachel? Yeah?'

'That's right. And you're welcome Doctor Mason. We all got told about you.'

'I'm flattered.' Grace turned and aimed a smug smile at her two colleagues.

Derek jumped on Richard as soon as he appeared round the corner. 'This place is going to hell; we need the real nurses.' He and Grace started walking with the Chief. Grace, purely for amusement, she didn't have much work.

'We need an additional 40 nurses to relieve the overtime they're striking about. That's $2 million a year we don't have.'

'Have you checked under the couch?' Derek asked glibly. 'I always find spare change under the cushions.' He came to a stop, Grace beside him as Richard started up the stairs. The Chief just gave him a dirty look. 'Okay, I'm silencing myself.'

Richard switched his look to her, but before he said anything Grace spoke first.

'I warned you. And you know full well I treat the nurses five times better than any other Doctor in this place. There's no way I'd disrespect them by outright telling you.'

The Chief glared and then walked off.

Derek looked at her for a moment. 'So…did you hear who was taking Bailey's interns?'

Grace started laughing. 'Oh, they are going to chew her up and spit her out.'

* * *

When Grace had a minute she grabbed the large bag of containers she had brought. Going out the main entrance she found one of the head nurses. 'Hey, Margo, I've got these, will you make sure everyone gets something?'

Margo, and all the nearby nurses, smiled at her. 'Thank you Doctor Mason, you're the only Doctor in there we don't mind working with every day.

Grace blushed slightly and nodded. 'Thank you. Do you know if George O'Malley is still…hesitating?'

'He's a sweetie, and still at the edge of the carpark.'

'Thanks Margo.' Grace walked around the group and worked her way to George's side.

'Hi there.'

George jumped. 'Doctor Mason? I'm-I'm sorry. I know I should – '

Grace held up a hand to cut him off. 'George, I'm not bothered. I just brought you this.' She held out a small bag containing a coffee and a muffin. 'Enjoy.'

* * *

Grace was stood at the desk, listening to Patricia talk to Richard. When Patricia left, he came to stand beside her.

'I don't really…need the robot.'

'No. I did mention that at the time.'

'But we do need the nurses.'

'We'll always need the nurses.' Grace said with a smile. 'The doctors? They're the muscles, but the nurses are the blood that keeps them going.'


	22. The End Of The World As We Know It

_Author Note - Another update since the last was shorter._

* * *

 _Some days are made of silent anticipation._

* * *

Grace wandered over to the board where Derek was stood. 'Quiet board.' She held out a coffee.

'Yeah, just don't say that to the Chief. What's this?'

'An elephant in a tutu,' she said deadpan before chuckling. 'Just coffee, and a peace offering.'

Derek looked at her and then the coffee, before finally taking the drink. 'A peace offering?' He started drinking it.

'Yeah, I woke up this morning and I just…couldn't be arsed disliking you anymore.' Grace said without looking at him. 'I've decided to offer a new start to you. Obviously we have history and common…things but we have more in common than we like to admit.'

'Okay,' Derek said after a long moment. 'Alright, a new start for us. But what happened to trigger this?'

Grace stayed quiet for a while. 'Your Mom called,' she chuckled as Derek groaned. 'Yeah. It was the same stuff she's said for the past…however many years, but this time…I'm just tired of us dancing around. For crying out loud I enjoyed the fact that you were here for two months before you found me!'

Derek chuckled at that. 'Yeah, the hospital is not that big.'

'Exactly, so…fresh start, hence the coffee.'

'Here's to fresh starts then.' Derek held out his cup and she tapped her own against it.

* * *

Grace was almost bouncing at the lift doors, waiting for them to open.

'You are very happy today.' Addie said as she came to a stop beside her.

'Yes I am!' Grace said with a smile. 'Miranda is on her way up to give birth to my godson. Of course I'm happy.'

'Well, it's good to see you like this. And as a bonus, you're worrying your – are you doing that deliberately?'

Grace looked at Addie in confusion. 'Doing what?'

'This.' Addie lifted one of Grace's hands as it clenched tightly.

'Er…' Grace tried to figure out how to avoid answering but was saved by the lift doors opening. 'Miranda!'

'Yeah, yeah, I know, he's coming.' Miranda said this grumpily, but there was a smile trying to take purchase on her face.

* * *

Grace wasn't happy when she'd been called away to take care of another birth. And she made sure her residents knew it, she made sure her interns knew it and even the nurses. The only people that didn't know it were the expectant parents.

* * *

'Okay Maisie,' Grace said after her initial exam. 'Good news, you are definitely in labour, bad news, it's still going to be a while before you get your baby.

Maisie Lawson chuckled slightly, and nudged her husband. 'I told you there was no need to rush Tom.'

'My wife starts having contractions, with our first baby, excuse me for panicking a bit.'

Grace chuckled and was about to start talking pain management when her beeper went off. 'Sorry about this.' She pulled it from her pocket and had to fight to keep her face from changing. 'Excuse me for just one minute Maisie, Tom, I'll be right back.'

Outside she went to the nurse's station and grabbed the phone. A quick call to the right place confirmed that the page legit and not a drill. Hanging up she saw Doctor Knox approaching in street clothes.

'It's legit.' She said before turning to the staff that had been gathering. 'Alright people this is an evacuation; Doctor Knox will give you instructions if you don't know what to do.' Grace turned back to the other attending. 'I'll need an ambulance or something for the couple that just came in, she's got a bit to go so it's safe to transfer her.'

'I'm on it. I'm just glad it's quiet today.'

Grace laughed slightly before going back to Maisie and Tom. 'Okay, so what I'm about to tell you is worrying but you will be safe and so will your baby. We have to evacuate the hospital.' She ignored the questions and kept talking. 'An ambulance will take you to Seattle Presbyterian, where my colleague will help you and your baby.'

'You aren't going with us?' Maisie asked with a worried voice.

'I will have to stay here to make sure everything runs as it should during this. I assure you, Doctor Knox is an amazing Doctor. She will take care of you.'

* * *

Grace stood with Addison trying process what she had just said. 'Tuck is…'

'Grace, are you alright?'

'No, no I am not. Not anywhere near the vicinity. One of my friends is in labour and her husband is undergoing serious brain surgery and could still die. Oh, and there's a bomb in the building.'

Addie grabbed her hands rubbing the backs of them to try and ease the tension. 'You need to breath. When Bailey finds out about this, and she will, she will need you. So just breath, and focus on your godson and your friend, because right now, they're the ones you can help.'

Grace took a deep breath, and then another, before finally talking. 'Okay. Okay, I'm…good. Go back to Miranda, I'll calm down and catch up.

* * *

Grace got to Miranda's room just as she asked Addie where her husband was.

'Being operated on by her husband.' Grace said quietly. 'He, got into an accident on the way here, pretty bad. Derek has him on the table now.'

Miranda was shaking her head. 'Just…no. No.'

Grace and Addison both stepped outside to give her a minute. Addie immediately turned her attention to Grace.

'You should go, you're in no shape to help, and it'll only get worse.'

'I'm – '

'Starting to shake like a leaf,' Addie said as she pulled Grace into a nearby office. 'Please, Gracie.'

Grace shook her head. 'Sedate me if you want Addie, but I can't leave her alone. Even if I'm not in the room with her, even if I'm conked out in a chair, I can't – I won't leave her.'

Addie looked down at her and nodded. 'Okay, I'll sedate you and you can stay on the chairs outside the room.'

* * *

Grace didn't know when, but at point she had moved herself into Miranda's room and was laid across the small sofa in there. Listening to George talk to Miranda. And even though she wasn't following perfectly, Grace knew it would work.

'I know your husband's not here and I know there are a lot things going on here that we have no control over. But this…this…we can do.'

There was some shuffling and Grace saw Miranda shifting around and the others doing things. Then George spoke again.

'Besides, you need to have the baby, if only to tell him his godmother was high as a kite when he was born.'

Miranda gave a watery laugh at this.

'Hey Georgie!' Grace said with a pout. 'That's mean. I resemble that…wait no…not that…something else…I dunno.'

'That's fine Doctor Mason, we've got this.' George looked back at Miranda. 'Let's have this baby.'

* * *

A while later, after humming loads of songs under her breath, Grace was starting to be less…high when she heard George saying he could see the baby's head. Grace immediately started sniggering.

'O'Malley.'

'Yeah?'

'Stop looking at my va-jay-jay!' Miranda turned her head slightly. 'And you stop laughing!'

Grace nodded as she sat up, firmly holding in her laughter.

* * *

Grace was sat on the bed next to Miranda as she held William. Addie and George had gone to get an update for them.

'You wanna hold your godson?'

'I – uh,' Grace hesitated and took a deep breath. 'My, tremors have been…getting worse. The last few weeks, there's been a few times when I haven't been stressed and my hands have…' she shook her head. 'It's not been bad, but…'

Miranda looked at her for a long moment before sitting up a bit more and pushing the baby into her arms. As Grace scrambled to hold him properly, Miranda spoke. 'My baby is the most precious thing I have. And I'd trust you with his life. Stop being so damn stupid.'

Grace felt tears slip down her face as she looked down at William. 'Okay.'

'Okay.'


	23. Yesterday

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/favourites and reviews. Enjoy the next chapter._

* * *

 _Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional._

* * *

Grace was walking towards the surgical reception was she froze at the sight of a familiar back near Meredith.

'Mark?' Grace called out, expecting to be wrong. Only to have her best friend turn towards her with a grin. 'Mark!' She squealed and ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck and letting him pick her up like always.

'Hey there Gracie!'

'What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?' Grace asked quickly before changing her mind. 'Never mind, I don't care. I'm just glad to see you!' She dropped off of him but stayed close. 'I see you met – '

Suddenly a fist slammed into Mark's face, dropping him to the floor.

'What the hell was that?' Meredith demanded of Derek.

'That, was Mark.' Derek said before walking off. Grace saw Addie fellow him before she switched her attention to her friend was shaking his head a little touching his cheek.

'You not helping me up Gracie?'

Grace folded her arms and looked at him. 'First, I'm six inches shorter than you, get yourself off the floor. Second you're getting no sympathy because you deserved it.'

Mark stood and smirked at her. 'You still missed me.'

'Of course,' she rolled her eyes and walked off. 'I'll get you a coffee.'

'And I want your muffins!' He shouted after her.

Grace just laughed and ignored that.

* * *

She walked into the exam room as Mark held a mirror out to Meredith.

'It's fine Grey,' Grace said, putting his coffee to the side. 'He's just about the best plastic surgeon there is.'

'Just about?' Mark put on a wounded look. 'Gracie, I'm hurt.'

'You'll live.'

Mark chuckled and started stitching. 'Alright, alright. I should get an x-ray done.'

'Derek does have a good swing.' Grace took the mirror from Grey and stood it on the table in the right light. 'Grey, go sort it.'

'Yes, Doctor Mason.' Meredith turned and left the room.

'Since when do you call him Derek?'

Grace shrugged a bit. 'A month or so. I just, didn't want to carry on disliking him. Though, no doubt the amicable thing we've had going will stop short now.'

'And you and Addie?'

'Same as always really. Some awkward moments but we're fine.'

Mark smiled slightly. 'Good to know. We avoided either of them whenever we talked. Even when I came here for Christmas.'

Just then Karev walked in.

Grace smiled at him. 'Mark, this is Doctor Alex Karev, Karev, Mark Sloan.'

'Nice to meet you Doctor Sloan. How are you Doctor Mason?'

'I'm good Karev. Mark, I'll be back soon for an explanation. Karev will show you where x-ray is.' Grace went to the door and then paused to look back. 'Oh and Karev?' The intern looked at her. 'Take care of him, otherwise you'll get first-hand knowledge of why I'm called Nature. We clear?'

Karev nodded nervously. 'Crystal.'

* * *

Grace went back to the examination room Mark was in, only to find it empty, with only a couple of x-rays left behind.

'Olivia?' Grace called as the nurse passed by. 'Did you see where Karev went with my friend?'

'Oh, I think I heard them talking about the dysplasia case, Doctor Mason.'

'Of course you did,' Grace said with a roll of her eyes. 'Thanks Olivia.' She headed off to find the two AWOL Doctors.

Up a couple of floors, Grace almost got bowled over by George, Yang and Karev. All of them shouting apologies as they went.

'Damn Rosemary's babies,' Grace said under her breath as she stopped at the walkway that looked into Richard's office, having been pointed that way by a nurse.

She could see that Richard was not happy about Mark's presence in his hospital. But Grace knew that despite his personal feelings, the Chief would do what was best for the hospital, Mark would get his opportunity to talk with the parents.

Just as the boys were leaving Richard's office, Grace saw Addie approaching form the opposite direction. Grace stayed where she was, knowing the confrontation had to happen eventually.

She them all stop and then Derek turned and came back in her direction.

He saw her ahead but at least he kept walking, even if he was tense. He just walked past her though.

'Really Derek?' She called out, making him stop. 'Mark turns up and the friendship we've started to build just disappears?'

'Do you plan on being friends with him?' Derek asked as he walked back slightly. 'Never mind, we both know the answer to that.'

Grace shook her head in disappointment. 'We've been friends for seventeen years; he's been there for…everything for me. You can't expect me to give up on that.'

'But you can't expect me to be friends with you while you're friends with – '

'Why not? You have been for the last month.' Grace said as she threw her hands up. 'Or did you think I stopped talking to him? Because I didn't. I talk to him every day, even if it's just a few texts.'

'I'm not listening to this.' Derek walked off but Grace followed him this time.

'Why are you so willing to damn him, without even trying to forgive like you are with Addie? It's why he's being such a jackass you know.'

Derek whirled round. 'Stop it, Mason! Just…stop.'

'I can't,' Grace said quietly. 'I'm the one they both cry to.' She turned and walked off without waiting for a response.

* * *

Later Grace was stood in the observation room, holding her godson while they watched Derek do his part of the operation on Jake. Beside her, Miranda was talking to William, describing every step of the operation as it happened.

It was going well for a bit, but then it went south.

As the OR team scrambled to resuscitate Jake, Miranda swiftly took the baby out of the room.

* * *

Grace was sat in the Attendings changing room with Mark. 'You okay?'

She knew that despite how much he loved doing the boob jobs and face lifts, it was cases like Jake that he lived for. Whether through disease or accident, he loved to give them back the face they wanted. And now he couldn't do that.

'Yeah,' Mark said quietly as he started to change. 'I just wish he could have got the face he wanted.'

'Me too,' Grace said with a smile as Mark started to strip. 'From what the nurses told me, he was a good kid.'

They fell into silence but it didn't last long before Karev and Yang came into the room.

'Doctor Sloan.'

'Yeah?' Mark said as he turned to look at them.

'Er…' Yang paused slightly. 'We, want you to do the surgery on Jake.'

'What?' Mark asked, with a frown.

Karev took over. 'You saw what he was like, sir, how much he wanted it. He should have the face he wanted so badly.'

Yang cleared her throat. 'Even if he never sees it himself.'

Mark stopped, and then looked at Grace. 'I see what you mean about them, Gracie.'

'When will you learn?' Grace said as she stood up. 'I'm always right.' She grabbed Mark's scrub top and handed it to him.

* * *

Grace sat in a corner of the room and watched Mark as he changed Jake's face. She had always liked watching him work, quite happy to do it for hours.

'I got a text about you.' Mark said out of nowhere, glancing at Grace.

'You did?'

'Yep.'

'The topic being…?'

'Your tremors.' Mark gave her a look before going back to work.

Grace thought for a moment. 'Miranda. Of course.' Then she frowned. 'How did she get your number?'

Mark chuckled quietly. 'Said she took it from your phone last week, after the baby threw up all over you and you went to clean up.'

'I thought she had a strange look on her face after that. Sort of…satisfied.'

'Stop trying to change the subject.'

'There is no subject to – '

Mark stopped and looked up at her. 'They're getting worse. Don't lie to me.'

Grace sighed slightly. 'Yeah.'

'How long?'

'Couple of months.'

He sighed and went back to his work, both of them continuing to ignore the two interns. 'You should have told me.'

'Yeah.'

'You should have had the operation years ago.'

'I didn't want to be left unable to help my patients in the way I had left.' Grace said tensely, this was the only thing they had ever argued about. 'Besides, even if I did, the chances of it working are – '

'I know the odds, Gracie. We could recite the steps for the op in our sleep.' Mark smiled slightly. 'But now you're starting to lose what you've got, no stopping it. The operation might fail, but it might give you back everything.'

Grace smiled in his direction. 'Yeah, it could. And what do I do if I lose what mobility time I have left? Hm? I get stuck in a wheel chair with nothing.'

Mark looked up and gave her a hard look. 'Not nothing. You'd have me, just like always. And I've told you a dozen times, I wouldn't leave you to rot in a chair. We'd go places, spend the rest of our lives seeing everything we could. We're both loaded, we don't have to work.' He finished with a wide grin, that Grace couldn't help but return.

'You'd give up your career, sir?' Karev asked, suddenly reminding them they weren't alone. But his tone wasn't sceptical or derisive, just curious, so Mark answered him.

'In a heartbeat. Gracie is more important than any surgery.' He gave her another grin. 'Always and forever, right Gracie?'

'Always and forever,' she said with a smile. 'I'm gonna go to Joe's across the street. I'll see you in a while.' Grace got up and dropped a kiss on Mark's cheek as she left.

* * *

 _Author Note - I hope that gave you all a good Mark fix. Let me know what you think._


	24. What Have I Done To Deserve This

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/favourites and reviews. I hope you keep loving the story, I love hearing what you think is going to happen with Grace._

* * *

 _Karma has no menu, you get served what you deserve._

* * *

Grace walked down the ortho halls looking for her target. 'Callie!'

Callie Torres turned and smiled at her. 'Grace, how you doing today?'

'Not bad, you?'

'I'm good. You needing something?'

Grace nodded and held out a chart. 'One of my patients is coming in, she tripped and might have a broken ankle. She doesn't have brittle bones, but she does break more easily than most. I wanted you to have a look when she gets here, if you have the time.'

'Sure,' Callie said as she read over the chart. 'I'll come up to you as soon as I've checked my patients.'

'Thanks, Callie, I'll get the x-rays done and I'll buy you a coffee later, yeah?' Grace said as she started walking away again.

Callie shouted after her. 'And I want some muffins tomorrow!'

* * *

Grace looked at the x-rays with Callie as she handed over the promised cup of coffee. 'Damn it.'

'Yeah, it's pretty bad,' Callie ran a finger across the films. 'This bit especially, she's going to need surgery, get some pins put in.'

'Well, she's at six months, so in the unlikely event the stress triggers labour, the baby will have good odds.'

Callie nodded and took the films down again. 'Come on then, we better go tell her.'

* * *

Grace followed the Chief, who looked like he was on a mission. She stopped when she saw him knock on a door.

'Can I help you Chief?' Miranda's voice came from the partially opened door.

'Doctor Bailey…I don't know what you're doing in there, but whatever it is…' Richard trailed off as the door opened wide. 'Oh. Oh, no. Um…Doctor Bailey, I'm…sorry. Carry on.' He walked off looking very uncomfortable.

Before Miranda could shut the door again, Grace darted over. 'What are you still doing here? I thought Tuck had been discharged?'

'Gracie?'

Grace frowned at the sound of Addison's voice in the room behind Miranda. 'Addie?'

Miranda stepped back and let her into the room before shutting the door behind her.

Walking around the curtain Grace found Addie with her feet in the stirrups and a cover partially hiding her.

'Addie?'

Addison just cried a bit and gestured to her legs.

Moving slightly, Grace took a look and winced. 'Oh, sweetie, that does not…did you just decide to sit on it or som – ' She stopped as Addie cried harder and nodded. Grace looked at Miranda for an explanation.

'Apparently, while walking the dog, she needed to pee, and rather than wake her husband. She just…well.' Miranda waved a hand at Addison. 'You, try the icepack for her again. I'll be back in a minute.'

Grace nodded absently as Miranda disappeared. 'Oh Addie…' she sat on the stool and grabbed the icepack.

'It's karma.' Addie sobbed out. 'I slept with Mark and this is what I get.'

'Sweetie, I don't think it works that way, otherwise a lot of women would have poison oak on their downstairs.' She chuckled but quickly stopped when Addie glared at her. 'Sorry, look, sleeping with Mark? Yeah, bad idea. But Addie, you were lonely, you can't be blamed for that part.'

Addie just nodded and kept crying.

* * *

Grace heard voices outside the room and looked up as the door opened. 'I'll get out of here.' She said, before giving Addie a comforting smile. As she walked around the curtain her smile faded at the sight of Derek. 'Shepherd. I'll see you later Miranda.'

* * *

Back at her loft, Grace found herself walking in to a freshly cooked meal.

Grace smiled brightly at Mark. 'You're amazing, you know that, right?'

'Yes, yes I do.' Mark took her jacket from her, and her bag, and showed her to a seat where her meal was waiting. 'I was surprised when you text to say you'd be late. What happened?'

'One woman tripped and had a broken ankle so I had to be in that surgery to monitor the baby. Then, not long after, three women came in, one of which was six weeks early.'

Mark smiled as he sat opposite her. 'So, three new lives in the world today?' She nodded. 'A good day then.' He held out his glass of wine and Grace clinked hers against it.

'To life.' She said with a grin. 'Even when it's exhausting.'

'To life.'


	25. Superstition

_Author Note - I'm updating again because this is a short chapter and I have a hospital test tomorrow that will probably make me unlikely to be bothered with updating. Hope you enjoy this, despite the shortness._

* * *

 _noun:_ _ **superstition**_

 _excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the supernatural_

 _a widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially as leading to good or bad luck, or a practice based on such a belief_

 _a custom or act based on such a belief._

* * *

Grace walked into the OR, stopping just at the door. She looked at every person in the room, mentally saying their names.

Then went back to the scrub room, scrubbed up and went back into the OR. She went and stood by the patient, already under, and mentally went through every step of the surgery.

Next, while she was hooked up to her lights, Grace said hello to everyone, greeting them by name.

After that Grace would ask the nurse near the hi-fi to turn on the music. And ask the nurse manning the pagers to ensure they were on the quiet setting.

Then, out loud, she would say the person's name, how old they were, what operation she was doing and a couple of random facts about them that she had found out.

Then she would start.

Every operation, rare as they were, started that way.

* * *

On the surgical floor one of her interns found her with a cup of hot chocolate.

'What do you want?' Grace said suspiciously.

The intern shook her head. 'No, this is from Doctor Montgomery-Shepherd, she said something about juju?'

Grace felt her eyes widen and grabbed the cup from the intern. 'Good girl, go away now.' She walked off and immediately started drinking the juju. Even though it was toasting her tongue a bit, juju had to be drank quickly.

* * *

Grace passing the ER, just wandering since she had nothing to do, and got there just in time to hear Yang say the Q word.

'Damn it, Yang!' Grace said loudly, her protest joining in the others. She poked her head in the door. 'Say that again and I'll shove scalpel where the sun doesn't shine. Damn Rosemary's babies.'

She wandered off without waiting for a reply, grumbling under her breath about stupid interns.

* * *

'You want me to pee in front of you?'

Grace was in the middle of business when Yang and O'Malley started arguing. In the bathroom. She resolutely blocked it out.

She stepped out of her cubicle the same time as Callie, they were planning on having lunch together, to find O'Malley and Yang…wrestling.

Exchanging a look with Callie they each went to a sink and started washing their hands. This seemed to remind them of where they were and the two interns stopped fighting.

'Hey, Doctor Torres. Doctor Mason, I'm glad to see you're feeling better.' O'Malley said after a moment.

'Thanks O'Malley.'

'Doctor O'Malley, you are aware this is the women's restroom?' Callie asked curiously.

'Yes Ma'am.'

'Just checking, O'Malley,' Grace said as they walked out together, leaving the interns to…whatever that was. Outside they looked at each other. 'That has to have something to do with Burke. I say we blame him.'

Callie chuckled and shook her head. 'I'm a resident, I'll keep my blaming to myself when it concerns an Attending. I don't have Bailey's balls.'


	26. The Name Of The Game

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. Just a reminder - I have no medical knowledge beyond basic first aid a facts I pick up from the show. All of Grace's medical stuff is made up. I hope you enjoy the new chapter._

* * *

 _Life's a game, all you have to do is know how to play it._

* * *

Grace found Miranda near the OR board, glaring at the offending item. 'You alright there, Miranda?' She asked as she handed over a mocha latte.

'Look at that board, and then ask if I'm alright.'

'Okay…' Grace did as she was told and frowned when she noticed something, or rather, the lack of something. 'Yesterday?'

'Nope. And it won't be there tomorrow.'

Grace joined her in glaring at the board just as Shepherd came around the corner.

'Ah, Doctor Bailey! You have an extra intern?' Shepherd came to a stop beside them.

'I'm available.' Miranda said immediately.

'And I'm going,' Grace said. 'Catch you later Miranda.' She left without even looking at Shepherd.

Grace knew it shouldn't have bothered her so much that Shepherd was so quick to drop their fledgling friendship when Mark came to Seattle, but it did. She didn't let people in easily and his reaction had hurt her, no matter how unsuprising it was.

* * *

Grace was sat in the observation room. Watching Addie doing the procedure on Meredith's sister. Meredith was at the opposite end of the room, knitting. She had no idea what that was about but Grace was pretty sure someone was either fixing the knitting or swapping it out, because the bit she'd seen Meredith do was nothing like the rest of it.

She sat forward on the seat, her music player going in her ears, following each step, imagining the way Addie would explain everything to George. Imagining the way she would do the same thing. This was one of the ways she kept her skills sharp, mentally if not physically.

This continued for the whole procedure, and at the end Grace was startled by a hand on her arm.

'Fuck's sake!' She jumped about a mile in her seat and glared up at Shepherd who was trying not to laugh. She yanked the headphones out her ears. 'I know you don't like me Shepherd, but I don't need to be put on Preston's case load.'

'Sorry, I did say your name, I didn't think your music was that loud.' Derek said with a smile. Grace rolled her eyes and went to stand. 'Wait, please.'

Grace hesitated at the look on his face and remained seated. 'What?'

Derek sat beside her. 'I wanted to apologise, for…well not for what I did or said, but the way I made you feel. I shouldn't have done that.'

'Fine, whatever. Apology accepted.' Grace stood and started wrapping the wire around her music player.

'Addie said it's getting worse.' Derek's voice stopped her as she turned to leave.

Grace sighed heavily. 'My friends have big mouths.'

'Maybe, are they right, it's happening when you aren't stressed?'

'Yeah,' Grace turned back to him. 'It started not long after Christmas. And no, I didn't have any falls or accidents or anything like that. It's just…got worse.'

Derek sighed as well. 'That's not good news.'

Grace gave a watery laugh and sat back down. 'No. Which probably means there's a fluid build-up on my brain in that area.'

'You know I'm capable of doing the surgery.' Derek said, turning in his seat to face her. 'As a favour to…well, I read up on your case years ago.'

'I know.' Grace smiled softly. 'You know, this operation is the only thing we've ever really argued about, me and him?'

Derek looked surprised at this. 'Really? I didn't realise that.'

'Yeah. When he was here, he said he'd look after me if the worst happened because of it,' Grace said quietly, not really talking to Derek anymore. 'Said he'd take me places and we'd never have to work, because we're both loaded. And he'd do it. He'd give it all up for me, without even thinking, just to make me smile.'

'You're in love with him…' Derek said, drawing her attention again. 'How long?'

Grace chuckled. 'The one night stand that…got me pregnant?' He nodded. 'That was the day I realised, I'd loved him for years, but that was the day I knew it. I wanted to forget and deal with it in the morning. Got a bit more drunk than planned.'

'I never realised.' Derek said looking down into the OR where the scrub nurses were cleaning up. 'Does Addie know?'

'Yeah, yeah she knows. I think, you and Mark were the only ones that didn't.' Grace laughed outright. 'Even your Mum knows!'

Derek laughed as well. 'There's very little my mother doesn't know.' He smiled back at her. 'Why have you never told him?'

'Because he doesn't see me that way,' Grace replied with a sad smile. 'I won't ruin what we have by telling him and…it's why I've always put off the operation.'

'Because you love him?' Derek was clearly confused.

Grace shook her head. 'Because, however small, there is a chance the surgery could kill me. And I don't want to leave him like that. Wondering if it's his fault because he talked me into it.'

'The odds of…of you dying, it's only about two percent.' Derek said with a smile.

'Yeah, I know, but fear, it's not always logical.' Grace chuckled. 'It's the reason we all have our quirks for doing surgeries. Preston has his caps, you've have your phrase, Miranda does a short prayer, I say hi to everyone and introduce them to an unconscious patient.'

'It's reason Addie went around and gave everyone juju last week.' Derek agreed with a chuckle before sighing. 'But now, you're risking losing what little you have. So…the operation, has now becoming your best option.'

'Yeah, I know.' Grace replied, watching the scrub nurses again. 'I know.'


	27. Blues For Sister Someone

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. Enjoy._

* * *

 _Love is not just a feeling, it's commitment and above all a sacrifice._

* * *

Grace was looking for Addie when she wandered past a room, only to back up a few steps. 'Mr Foote?'

The older man looked up and smiled. 'Miss Mason, I wondered if you were around here somewhere.'

'Well here I am,' Grace said with a smile as she walked into the room. 'How are you doing?'

'Health wise? I'm just fine.' Mr Foote said with a shrug. 'But enough about me, have you been playing lately?'

'Yes sir, whenever I can.' Grace chuckled. 'Of course babies don't arrive on schedule so sometimes it'll be a few weeks between playing sessions, but I do still play.'

Mr Foote smiled widely. 'That's good, everyone needs music in their life.'

Just then Preston and Yang appeared in the doorway.

'Mr Foote, Doctor Mason, good morning.'

'Morning Doctor Burke,' Grace stood and looked back at Mr Foote. 'I'll stop by later, sir. Preston, I've got some blueberry muffins sat at the nurse's station for you, just ask Sandra for them.'

Preston chuckled and nodded. 'Will do, Grace.'

* * *

When Grace went back to her own department, having been pointed that way by a nurse, she found a familiar family in one of the rooms.

'Hello Chris, Rose, hi kids, how is everyone today?'

Most of the kids left their activities to jump up and hug her while Chris and Rose gave her wide smiles.

'Doctor Mason,' Chris said, standing to shake her hand as the kids made a hole. 'It's good to see you again. How are you?'

'I'm fine, doing great.' Grace aimed a smile are Rose. 'And you? Ready to have your baby, Rose?'

'Definitely. This one seems set to play soccer.'

Grace laughed and spent some time catching up with the family.

* * *

'Preston?'

'Grace.' Preston didn't even look up. He was just looking down from the walkway near the Chief's office, watching people pass by.

'You okay?' She went to stand beside him.

Preston shook his head. 'Eugene Foote wants me to remove his pacemaker.' Grace felt her eyes widen. 'He played for me, in his room, it was…brilliant, but it wasn't Eugene Foote brilliant. Something was…off, a few things actually.'

Grace nodded. 'He says the pacemaker has upset his natural rhythm.'

'Yes. And he wants it out. At my hand.'

Sighing Grace turned to watch the people as well. 'I can't tell you what to do here, Preston, no one can. You're the best there is, but I can understand why you're hesitating.'

'He told me about finding his first violin, that he was hooked from that moment.' Preston turned to look at her. 'Have you ever had a moment like that?'

'Two,' Grace said with a nod. 'First time, I was still in high school, back in the UK, one of my teachers had a heart attack and stopped breathing. I only knew…the absolute basics of CPR, but I used it, and I saved his life. That was the moment I decided to be a doctor.'

Preston smiled at that. 'And the second?'

'I walked into a bar in New York, the first free weekend I had in med school I drove there from Boston, and I walked in only to smack right into a guy.' Grace started smiling widely. 'I started to fall back and he grabbed me, one arm around my waist, the other cradling my head. And I knew he was going to be part of my life forever.'

'I didn't realise you were with someone?'

Grace laughed and shook her head. 'No, it was Mark, he's my best friend, my closest friend. He always will be.' She turned and smiled at Preston. 'You know where to find me. I'll see you later.'

* * *

Later that day Grace was sat in the observation room, watching Preston operate. It didn't end well. Afterwards, she joined him in an on call room, and they just sat, listening the Eugene Foote play on the hi-fi.


	28. New York, New York

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Life is too short to be lived counting the years. Just enjoy the ride._

* * *

Grace quietly snuck into Mark's apartment, using her key, and made her way into his bedroom. She'd timed her flight to make sure she'd get here in the middle of the night. Stripping off her clothes, Grace grabbed a t-shirt forgotten on the floor and pull it on over her knickers.

Then, abandoning the stealthy approach, Grace jumped on the bed shouting Mark's name as she did.

'Markie!'

'Holy shit! Mark yelled, rolled out of bed, jumped to his feet and staggered backwards in around three seconds.

Meanwhile Grace was dying of laughter on the bed. 'Oh god! Your face!

'Grace?!' Mark gasped out as he clutched his chest. 'For the love of God, you've got to stop doing that!'

'I'm keeping you young Markie!' Grace said as she regained control of herself. She knelt on the bed and grinned. 'Besides, I wanted to surprise you for our birthdays. Still love me?' Grace looked sad and pouted at him.

'Urgh…' Mark groaned and visibly gave in. 'I hate when you do that. Fine, let's just…go to sleep.'

Grace giggled and got under the covers. 'Love you, Markie.'

Mark got in behind her and snuggled down. 'Love you too, Gracie.'

* * *

Grace spent a week in New York. Using and abusing Mark's apartment when he worked, which wasn't often because he rearranged everything he could. And when Mark was available, they went to all the sights, even though they'd been many, many times before.

On the tenth, a day before Mark's birthday, and two days before Grace's, they went to the graveyard to visit Marcus. Then proceeded to get thoroughly hammered in their favourite bar.

Grace even made a quick visit to see Mama Shepherd. Who was very scary and Grace was not stupid enough to visit the east coast and not go see her.

But mostly, she and Mark just enjoyed each other's company. It was the way they had always been, right from the beginning. And it suited them just fine.


	29. 17 Seconds To Fight Or Fly

_Author Note - When I first started writing this story, the events of this chapter weren't planned, the story was going to go in an entirely different direction, but this happened instead._

* * *

 _Scared is a superpower._

* * *

Grace paused when the lift doors opened and Meredith and Derek stormed out, headed in opposite directions, leaving Addie looking confused.

'Okay, what was that?' Grace asked as the lift set off.

'I think they've had a fight. They were like that at the vet's this morning.'

Grace nodded. 'I…uh…I got nothing. Want to have lunch together later?'

'Yeah, okay.'

Grace nodded again and they left the lift together.

* * *

It was a very tense ten minutes as Grace performed an ultra-sound on the GSW victim. She knew that Derek knew she knew there were problems between him and Meredith.

Poor George tried to break the tense silence but only made things worse.

'So, Doctor Mason, I heard you went on holiday to New York. Did you have fun?'

'Er…yeah O'Malley, but I've been there many times before. I went to Harvard for med school and spent my weekends in New York.'

Thankfully she had gotten the images she needed.

'The fetus is fine. There no signs of distress and aside from anything unexpected, there's no reason she shouldn't go full term.' Grace stood and started wiping the patient's stomach. 'I'll come back after your surgery to do another ultrasound, just to be safe.'

'I'll have you paged when we're done and she's in post-op.'

Grace was almost thankful when a woman in labour came in, meaning that she could direct the still grumpy Derek towards his wife.

She'd apologise to Addie later.

* * *

She regretted it not long after though, when Addie and Derek had a very loud argument on the walkway above the surgical reception. For the first time Grace could remember, the room was silent.

As Derek walked away from Addie, and everyone tried to pretend to be doing something, Grace darted up the stairs and over to Addie.

'Come on, let's take a walk.'

Addie nodded at let herself be led away.

Down in the overflow corridor, Grace just sat with Addie in silence. She knew her friend was too raw to talk at the moment, but at the same time, desperately didn't want to be alone. It was the same kind of loneliness that had pushed her towards Mark in the first place.

'Why can't my love be enough?'

Grace sighed. 'If love were enough, we'd only have the bad guy's lives to save. The good guys would be just fine.'

* * *

Grace had detoured through the ER, to check and see that there were no incoming calls that would need her or Addison to stay. Which would suck, because they had plans on getting drunk tonight.

Knowing it was quicker to catch a bus on this side of the hospital Grace headed out the emergency bay doors to find Preston just arriving.

'Preston, I thought you were fetching a heart from Mercy West?'

'I was, but I needed to come back and confirm Denny had gotten worse so he can move up the list.'

Grace frowned. 'I thought he was – '

She cut off with a gasp as there were bangs and pain blossomed in her leg and after what felt like an age, Grace fell to the floor.

As she lay there gasping, the sound of more shots filtered into her brain and Grace saw a body fall in front of her.

Then there were people everywhere, Grace realised the other person on the floor was Preston.

'Preston? Is he alright? Is he okay?' Grace tried to shove away the light in her eyes. 'Would you fuck off? I'm fine!'

A surgical resident she sort-of recognised appeared. 'Doctor Mason, you've been shot in the leg twice. We need to get you inside.'

'No, no, no…'Grace shook her head. 'I don't do hospitals, I don't stay in hospitals, I'm gonna go home, then you can help Preston.'

The resident shook his head. 'Doctor Burke is being taken care of, let us help you.'

Grace felt herself being lifted from the floor. 'No!' She slapped away hands frantically. 'No! No touching! Don't touch me, no touching!' She was hastily lowered back to the ground.

'Doctor Mason, please, you're losing a lot of blood, we need to help you!'

'Get away! Stop touching me!' Grace shrieked at the people near her, trying to scramble away from them, but not being able to move very well for some reason.

'Grace Mason, you stop that right now.'

'Miranda?' Grace recognised her friend. 'They…they keep touching me…' she frantically shook her head. 'Tell them to stop it! I don't like it!'

Miranda nodded. 'That's fine.'

'Doctor Bailey, we need to - '

'Know when your patient has a chronic fear of being touched unexpectedly and a history that causes panic attacks.' Miranda looked at her again. 'Grace. We are going to lift you onto the gurney. Just that. I promise. Onto the gurney only.'

Grace focused on Miranda's voice and heard what she was saying, then managed a shaky nod.

A moment later, she was shifted and she felt the gurney beneath her.

'Okay, now I am going to put all the monitoring attachments on you. Just me, no one else. Only the things to monitor you.'

Grace managed another nod and Miranda's quick hands hooked her up.

'Next – '

'Pressure on the wound. Stabilise the blood loss.' Grace whispered.

'That's right, we're going to put pressure on your wounds, and try to stop the bleeding.'

The pain of her injuries being messed with, cleared some of the panicked fog from her mind. 'What the flying fuck?! Was I shot?'

'Yes you were, now lie still.' Miranda put a small amount of pressure on her shoulder and pushed her down to lay on the gurney. 'Now, we're gonna go inside and once we're there, we'll start doing our job. Grace, do you want me to sedate you, so you can get through this?'

Grace nodded, part of her knowing if she wasn't sedated, chances were, she'd freak out on whoever wound up looking after her. 'Yeah, but nobody calls Mark!' She said urgently. 'Promise you won't call him. Addie can decide things if I'm out of it, but don't call Mark he'll freak the fuck out.'

Miranda nodded. 'Alright, no calling McSteamy.'

* * *

Grace didn't follow anything after being sedated. There were images and sounds and feelings but nothing matched up. Eventually, everything went dark.

* * *

The next thing she knew, Grace was waking up in an ICU room, just as Debbie was checking her stats.

'How…am I doing Deb?'

'Doctor Mason, you should be fine. I'll get one of the doctors to come see you.'

But darkness came back before that happened though Grace thought she heard Miranda shouting about suck ups.

* * *

Grace blinked a few times when she saw Derek looking down at her.

'Grace, you're awake again.'

'How…long?' Grace cleared her throat, but Derek was there with some water. 'Thanks. How long was I out of it?'

'Most of the night. You were shot twice and had to have surgery to repair some of the damage. You'll be off your feet for a while.'

'Preston?'

Derek's smile faded slightly. 'Right in the shoulder. He's at about 80 percent hand function.'

Grace winced, knowing what that meant to a surgeon. Then she remembered something else. 'Nobody called Mark, right?!'

An actual laughed escaped Derek at this. 'No, you made Doctor Bailey promise not to before you were sedated.'

'Oh thank god,' Grace sighed in relief. 'That's the last thing we need.'

'Yes.' Derek hesitated briefly. 'I took the opportunity to order an MRI and a CT, with your history it was within the realms of acceptable actions.'

Grace sighed and lay back against the pillows. 'Of course you did.' She looked up at the ceiling. 'What did you see?'

'There's a small amount of fluid build-up there, but, there is actually a tumour, a small one, pressing on the injured area.'

'A tumour?'

'Yeah, if it had been anyone else,' Derek smiled slightly. 'We probably wouldn't have seen the effects of it for…two, three months, perhaps longer.'

Grace chuckled at that. 'So for once my weirdness has helped. So, I'm guessing you want to go in and get it out. And fix the broken part at the same time.'

'That'd be nice, yeah.' Derek laughed as well before turning serious. 'We both know, that the stress from being shot, not just the physical stress your body is under, but the mental, from being in a hospital…it will make your tremors worse. Which will likely exacerbate your prior condition. You'll need help all the time, and since you live – '

'Live alone, it means staying in the hospital.' Grace finished quietly. 'Until I do have the surgery.'

'Yeah.'

'Yeah.'

* * *

 _Author Note - Do you hate me? Please let me know what you think, this is a kind of critical chapter to the story's development, so I'd love feedback._


	30. Losing My Religion

_Author Note - Sorry for the wait, I was helping my cousin lay a floor in my Nan's kitchen and by the time I got home I was too tired to remember to upload the chapter. I hope you enjoy the chapter._

* * *

 _And now you've gone away, leaving us with the memory of your smile._

* * *

Tyler was taking down her stats when a phone rang.

'That's…my phone.' She said with wide eyes.

With a chuckle Tyler went into the cupboard at her bedside. 'It rang about five times while you were out.' He handed the phone over.

'Oh…dear, it's Mark.' Grace looked at the phone for a long moment. 'Oh crap, what do I do?'

Tyler laughed as he headed towards the door. 'Most people usually answer.'

'Oh that's helpful,' Grace said with a sarcastic smile. 'Thank you very much.' She took a deep breath and flipped her phone open.

' _Where have you been?!'_ Mark asked loudly before she could say anything. _'I called a half dozen times! What happened?'_

'Okay, first, breathing is your friend Mark,' she paused as there was an aggravated sigh. 'Second, we were very busy yesterday. A guy went nuts and shot up a restaurant – '

' _I know this! I have Seattle tagged on my browser. Anytime something big happens, enough to get on the news, I get a notification about it! It said two doctors at Seattle Grace – your hospital! – were shot. If you hadn't answered this time I was gonna get on a flight!'_

'Don't do that!' Grace said quickly, sitting up slightly. 'I'm…fine.'

There was silence. _'You hesitated.'_

'…No, I didn't.'

' _Grace.'_ Mark took a slow deep breath. _'Were you, one of the doctors that…got shot?'_

'You are not flying over here Mark.'

' _YOU WERE SHOT!'_

Luckily Grace had already pulled the phone away from her ear before he yelled. 'You aren't flying over Mark; you have that reconstruction on the kid that was shot. Besides, it was just my leg. I needed a minor surgery and I'll…be fine.'

' _You hesitated again, Grace.'_

Grace cursed her inability to lie convincingly to Mark. 'Obviously, stress is a factor, but it's under control. They're keeping me lightly sedated, just enough to keep the panic at bay.' She was distracted as Debbie walked in with a breakfast tray. 'Ooh jello! Mark, Debbie's brought me jello, and some fruit!'

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. _'Dammit, Gracie. You aren't telling me something.'_

'Not right now, Mark,' Grace said quietly. 'I'll tell you later, but not now. I promise, I'm in no danger, just…not now.'

'… _Fine. Alright, Gracie, you win. But you better answer, every time I call. You hear me?'_

'Even if I'm asleep?'

There was a reluctant chuckled on the other end of the phone. _'I'll call during the day. Keep safe, Gracie. I love you.'_

Grace smiled softly. 'I will, love you too.' She saw the look Debbie gave her as she hung up. 'It's not like that.'

'For you or for him?' Debbie asked as she help Grace adjust her cushions to sit up a bit more. 'Because while he was here, there were two topics of conversation. Him and the Shepherds, and him and you.'

'I'm aware of that.' Grace said with a chuckle.

'So…?' Debbie said as she slid the table into place, putting the jello within reach.

Grace smiled and began to eat the green jello. 'He's my Mark, but he's not mine. And I'm okay with that.'

Debbie patted her arm comfortingly. 'You know the drill. The button is on your left, but one of us will always be sat at the station. Yell if you need anything, and you already know you're on a jello and fruit only diet.'

'Wouldn't want to make a mess for you to clean up Debbie, I'm nice like that.'

* * *

'Hey Richard! How are you…?' Grace trailed off as she saw her friend's face. 'What's wrong?'

The Chief sighed as he settled into the chair at her bedside. 'Do I start with what happened to you and Preston, or maybe Camille's cancer being back, or how about Bailey's interns stealing an organ by cutting Denny's LVAD wire?'

Grace choked on her orange jello. She got more every time she ran out, and more bananas, apples and grapes as well. Swallowing some water Grace looked at Richard in shock. 'They stole, a heart?!'

Richard nodded. 'Grey, Yang, O'Malley and Stevens were in the room, Karev was at Mercy West and he doesn't seem to be involved. Technically we don't have proof of who did it.'

'How's Camille?' Grace had met the girl a number of times over the years through her friendship with Adele and Richard.

'She's…doing as well as can be expected.' Richard ran a hand over his eyes. 'But it isn't good news. We're throwing a prom for her, since she missed half of it when she collapsed last night.'

'Sounds fun,' Grace said with a smile. 'Almost makes me wish I was walking, but then I'd just wind up wishing Mark was there with me to dance so…'

Richard nodded and chuckled. 'I'm surprised he hasn't arrived here already.'

Grace winced. 'I got a phone call, and a scolding, but I managed to talk him into staying in New York.'

'Well, I should go,' he said as he got to his feet. 'I have interns to interrogate.' Richard went to the end of her bed and looked at her chart before stopping and looking up at her.

'I'm fine. And no, I didn't tell Mark about the tumour.' Grace shrugged a bit. 'I will, but…not right now.'

Richard sighed and nodded. 'Alright,' he came back to her side and dropped a kiss on her forehead. 'Have a nurse page me if you need me.'

'I will.'

* * *

'I can't believe my eyes.'

Grace looked away from the TV to find Miranda stood at the door her room. 'What?'

Miranda pointed at the TV. 'You, watching TV, watching a soap opera.'

'Oh, yeah,' Grace sighed. 'I haven't seen Addie to ask her to go get some books from my place yet. Apparently two labours came in, one was twins and the other needed surgery, and now everyone's going to the prom so…' she shrugged. 'I'll make do. You look nice by the way.'

'Thanks,' Miranda walked in and looked at her chart. 'Still not taking pain meds?'

Grace shook her head. 'You know that with the sedative it'll knock me right out. I'm waiting to talk to Mark again and then I'll get some, promise.'

Miranda accepted that. 'Good, 'cause I'm the resident on your case, so I'll be checking. And you better behave.'

'Yes Ma'am.' Grace said with a salute.

'Damn fool,' Miranda rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

'Miranda!' Grace waited for her friend to look back at her. 'Thanks, for…for helping me.'

Miranda just smiled and left.

* * *

Later, Grace saw Yang, O'Malley and Grey run past her room. Not long after she spotted Olivia and called her in.

'Olivia, what happened, I heard a code call.'

'Denny Duquette died just before eight.'

Grace sighed and dropped her head against her pillow. 'Great.' She smiled at the nurse. 'Thanks, Olivia. And could someone do my pain meds when they have a minute?'

Olivia nodded and smiled. 'Sure, Doctor Mason, I'll see to it.'


	31. Time Has Come Today

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Time is what we want the most, but use the worst._

* * *

Grace looked at the packet in her hands. 'Judging by your face, these are not yours, but you found them in the trailer.' Addie had just walked in, sat down and tossed the packet onto Grace's table.

'No, they are not, and yes I did, in his tux.'

'You need to deal with this, Addie, you can't keep…' Grace shook her head. 'You can't let him keep hurting you.'

Addie nodded and took back the underwear as she stood. 'I know. Enjoy your books, and clothes and…things. Let me know if you need anything else.'

Grace smiled a bit. 'I will. Come by for lunch?'

'Sure, I'll bring you a hot chocolate.'

* * *

The day was much easier with her own stuff to occupy her. Grace had turned the TV off and had her music playing with one headphone in while she worked through a Sudoku puzzle book. She also had word search books and novels to read.

Also, the nurses were always popping in for a few minutes just to see how she was. Even the ones that didn't work on this floor stopped by when they had the chance. Grace was just glad she didn't have to subject herself to daytime TV again to avoid staring at the walls.

* * *

It was a very quiet lunch. Or rather, lunch was not filled with what they needed to talk about. Instead, Grace, Addie and Miranda, who had joined them, talked about everything accept what they needed to. Addie didn't talk about Derek sleeping with someone else. Miranda didn't talk about how much of a failure she felt because of her interns. And Grace didn't talk about the fact that she needed a surgery that terrified her.

Instead, they talked about the psych resident who had caved under the head of the department's mind games and quit last week. They talked about the two female nurses who had finally went open with their relationship. They talked about a local politician who had been caught on camera in the middle of things with a nineteen-year-old student. They even talked about sports.

They just didn't talk about what they needed to talk about.

* * *

' _Hello?'_

'Did I wake you?' Grace said quietly.

There was some rustling on the other end of the line. _'It doesn't matter. Are you alright?'_

Grace felt some tears slip down her face as she curled on her side as best she could. 'I have a tumour on the injured part of my brain. It's what's made the tremors get bad so quick.'

' _I'll see you soon.'_

As the line went dead, Grace laughed slightly and then relaxed. Knowing that with Mark nearby she'd be fine.

* * *

 _Author Note - Yes, Mark is coming back._


	32. I Am A Tree

_Author Note - Just a reminder - I have zero medical knowledge, anything that isn't a direct quote is most likely entirely made up. I am not doctor - just a fan of fake doctors_

* * *

 _I act on impulse and I go with my instincts._

* * *

'Alright,' Miranda said as she walked in with four of her interns and Derek. 'Grace Mason. Admitted after being shot twice in the thigh – '

'Oh please,' Grace said with a roll of her eyes. 'Let's cut to the chase.' She looked at the interns. 'My GSWs are not the issue. Twelve years ago, during my last year at med school, I was brutally attacked and raped. One of my many injuries, was to my head. Basically part of it is fucked up, which causes the tremors you're all no doubt aware of.

'The tremors are caused by a stress induced hormone shift, it affects my motor control, and if I don't calm down quickly enough, or I'm not sedated, it triggers a severe panic attack. Like the one I almost had when I was shot.

'The area where the injury is, has a fluid build-up. I was told this would happen ten years ago after a routine CT when I got a concussion. The build-up puts pressure on the injury and makes everything worse. I haven't had the surgery before because, even with Doctor Shepherd's skills, the odds of an adverse effect are high.'

Grace looked at each of the interns carefully.

'There is a sixty percent chance I'll lose function in at least my legs, but more likely I'll be a quadriplegic. Which is what will happen without the surgery anyway. But that's not all the bad news. It should have been at least another five years before the fluid build-up caused enough pressure to become a worry. Now, I have a tumour growing in my brain, and no prizes for guessing where it is.

'I'm not having surgery right now, because without being mentally prepared for it, I will just keep having panic attacks, setting back my recovery. But I also need consistent care and help, so I'm a resident of the surgical floor until further notice.'

There was a long silence before O'Malley finally spoke.

'Wow, and I thought we had problems.'

Grace grinned as Miranda gave him a dirty look.

'It should be noted,' Derek said after a moment. 'That at no time is anyone to touch Doctor Mason. If you are checking on her, you must stop and ask for permission to do anything before you do it. She has a severe anxiety disorder about being touched unexpectedly.'

Miranda nodded and gave hard looks to the interns. 'All the nurses know because she's worked here for years. But if any of you trigger a panic attack because you didn't follow orders…you'll wish I had gotten a hold of you first.'

'What are you talking about?' Yang asked in confusion.

'She means the nurses,' O'Malley said with a smile. 'The nurses love her, every single one of them. If we mess up with Doctor Mason…' he paused and actually looked scared for a moment. 'Well, let's just say I'll be transferring to a hospital as far away as I can get.'

* * *

Grace blinked awake slightly when she felt a hand run down her face.

'Hey there, Gracie.'

'Markie,' Grace said with a smile, her eyes partially shut again. 'You're here.'

She felt Mark sit on the bed beside her. 'Yeah, I'm here now. And we're never going to be that far apart again.'

Grace nodded and smiled. 'Okay. You gonna go see Addie?'

'I was planning on staying here – '

'Mmm, nah…' Grace managed to open her eyes long enough to look at him. 'Go on. I'll be here in the morning. And so will you.'

* * *

 _Author Note - Again, I am NOT a doctor. Don't be sending me messages about how ludicrous Grace's condition is._


	33. Sometimes A Fantasy

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _That was all and it was enough for me. Fantasies are better left fantasies._

* * *

For the next week, Mark would 'sneak' into her room at random times of the day. Sneak being highly ironic because every nurse in the hospital knew when he was visiting because he would lock the door to her room and close the blinds.

The best part was the nurses always diverted the doctors away somehow. Especially anyone called Derek.

And while Mark was there, they would play card games or do puzzle books together. And it was brilliant. They hadn't brought it up, but the topic of him moving to Seattle permanently was in the air. They loved their holidays together, but there was always a sense of cramming in as much time as possible together before they ended up 3000 miles apart again.

That feeling wasn't there anymore.

And it felt great.

* * *

 _Addie just slapped me and all but bolted from the bar._

 _ **You're in Joe's?**_

 _Yeah. So?_

 _ **So…I think, well. I think you're not going to get what you want this time.**_

…

…

 _ **Mark? You there?**_

 _Yeah. And…I'm starting to think that as well._

 _ **I'm sorry.**_

 _I know. Want me to sneak in a McDonald's milkshake?_

 _ **Yes please!**_

* * *

Grace almost spilt her milkshake when Addie banged into her room.

'She is everywhere! Her dog was in my trailer, her panties were in my husband's jacket and normally I can go all day without seeing her in the hospital. But today! Today she's everywhere!' Addie paced next to the window, not even looking like she wanted an answer so Grace kept quiet.

'Why can't she just leave me alone? It's like she's haunting me, and taking over every corner of the hospital. She is everywhere!' Addie sigh and sat on the edge of the bed.

'You good?' Grace asked cautiously.

'Mostly.'

'Okay.'

'Okay.' Addie got up and left.

* * *

Callie stormed into her room, already ranting.

'I cannot believe him!' She began pacing at the end of Grace's bed. 'I mean, I had this really cool surgery and he seemed to get how cool ortho can be, you know?' Callie didn't seem to want a response either so Grace just nodded. 'It started with that hockey player. And it went from there. And next thing I know I'm falling in love with the guy!

'And it's brilliant! Everything is great, the sex is great, just talking is great! And it was so romantic when he said he wanted to make sure he meant it when he said he loved me. So that I would always know he meant it.

'But now! I show him this cool surgery and he talks the guy out of it! Then he's going on about warp speed and saying he doesn't want me living with him. I mean can you believe him?!'

When Callie finally stopped and dropped into a chair Grace spoke.

'Feel better?'

'A bit.'

Grace shrugged and ate a grape. 'A bit is better than nothing.'

'Right. I'll see you tomorrow.' Callie got up and left.

Grace spotted Debbie looking in at her. 'Well I didn't invite them. The only person I've invited is Mark.'

* * *

 _So, I'm going to check into a hotel._

 _ **What's wrong with my place?**_

 _Nothing. But you aren't there, and the hotel is closer to the hospital._

 _ **This wouldn't happen to be the same hotel Addie's in, is it?**_

…

 _Yeah._

 _ **Be careful.**_

 _I'll try. Love you._

 _ **Love you too.**_


	34. What I Am

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves reviews. Enjoy._

* * *

 _Memories are the architecture of our identity._

* * *

'Gracie…' there was a light touch running down her nose. 'Gracie…wakey, wakey…'

Blinking in the morning light, Grace squinted up at the figure looming over her. 'Mark? What are you doing here?'

'Brought you a smoothie for breakfast.' Mark held out the large plastic cup.

Grace couldn't help but smile. 'Thank you.' As she made to shift, Mark quickly put the smoothie down and helped her. 'And I actually meant here, at this time. You don't usually visit for a while yet.'

'I'm going to go see the Chief,' Mark said idly as though he were commenting on the weather. 'Maybe hang out here a while.'

That took a moment to process in Grace's sleep addled brain. 'Wait…' she looked at him again, starting to smile. 'Seriously? You're staying?'

'Yeah, for a while at least. I figure, you make the rain worthwhile.'

Grace was full on grinning now. Her best friend was going to be nearby all the time.

* * *

'Karev!' Grace called out when she saw him passing. 'Where you headed?'

Karev grinned at her happily. 'Doctor Shepherd finally let me off the gyne squad. I'm going to go work with Doctor Sloan.'

Grace started laughing. 'Oh, Karev.' He was going to regret letting go of Addison. 'You are going to be…amazed.'

'I'm looking forward to it.' Karev turned and left as Olivia was bringing in some fresh water for Grace.

'What's so funny, Doctor Mason?'

Grace grinned at Olivia. 'I love Mark to bits, but he is not the best person to be in charge of interns.'

Olivia looked puzzled. 'How come?'

'He sees interns as PAs basically. The first thing he'll most likely have Karev do is get him a bone dry double cappuccino.'

'Seriously?'

Grace nodded and grinned. 'Seriously.'

'Is it bad that I like the sound of Karev being used like that?' Olivia asked, not really sounding all that bothered.

'Not at all.'

* * *

'Happy Tuesday!'

Grace grinned when Mark appeared in the doorway with a large bunch of tulips, irises and carnations. 'Mark! It's beautiful.'

'I know my face is distracting, but look! I brought you flowers.' Mark replied, his eyes full of mischief.

'Darn, just when I thought I had that under control.' Grace put on a mock disappointed look.

'I got one of the nurses to take the delivery when it arrived and then page me.' He placed the flowers on her bedside table. 'I wanted to give you them myself.'

Grace smiled again. 'You're too nice to me.'

Mark dropped a kiss on her forehead. 'Nowhere near nice enough. I've got to go prep for a burn victim.'

'Yeah, I heard about the cigarette guy. Good luck.'

Sauntering back to the door, Mark smirked at her. 'I don't need luck, I'm all skill.'

* * *

'I like that Doctor Bailey of yours.' Mark said as he sat beside her on the bed.

Grace smiled as her painkiller kicked in and started making her fall asleep. 'Yeah, I like her too.'

'I think I'm going to like it here, Gracie.' He ran hand across her hair, smoothing it away from her face. 'I know I like being closer to you.'

'Mm, I like you…here too…' Grace managed a smile. 'I miss you when you're gone. More than I…really tell you, I miss you lots…'

'Gracie?'

'Mm? I don't…wanna be alone…no more, Markie…'

* * *

 _Author Note - I know there's a lot of shorter chapters but the shorter the chapter, the sooner I add the next one._


	35. Oh, the Guilt

_Author Note - Sorry for no updating yesterday. By the time I finished cooking/baking for my son's birthday party today, I was exhausted and went straight to bed. I hope you enjoy this longer chapter though_

* * *

 _No amount of guilt can change the past. No amount of worrying can change the future._

* * *

'Damn it Miranda Bailey, I am leaving this hospital room!' Grace said as she heaved herself into a wheelchair. 'I am not spending one more minute in this room! I'm leaving!'

Logically, Grace knew that most of her current state was because there had been an issue with her sedative and she had been temporarily removed from it. But logic wasn't really part of her thought process at the moment.

'Gracie?'

'Mark!' Grace said with relief. 'Miranda won't let me leave the room! And I want to.' She sent another glare at her shorter friend.

'Okay.' Mark knelt in front of her. 'Now let me hear what Doctor Bailey has to say. Ah!' He held up a hand to stop her from talking. 'Doctor Bailey?'

'The IV port showed signs of infection this morning, so it was removed. We were planning on giving her an injection but…the drugs wore off a little too quickly.'

'No more injections. I need to get out of here.' Grace said as she folded her arms, trying to hide their shaking.

Mark noticed though, he always did. 'Gracie, look at me.' He waited until she did. 'I know, I _know_ how much you hate hospitals. But you can't leave, and don't bother lying. We both know, as soon as you got out the room and away from people you would have made your way home.'

Grace pursed her lips and looked away again. 'I'm not staying. I can't stay.'

'How about, you hang out with me today then?' Mark said as he stood. 'You don't have to have an injection, you stay in the wheelchair though, and you stick with me. Get out of the room for a bit and then come back later on.'

'Fine. But I want hot chocolate and a bagel.'

Mark nodded at Miranda and started pushing her from the room. 'One hot chocolate and one bagel, coming up.'

* * *

'Doctor Burke has summarised the medical facts of this case. Are there any questions for me?'

Grace frowned as more than a dozen hands flew into the air. Damn vultures were just waiting to pick her over. Miranda pointed to the same doctor that had been starting on Preston.

'You recently had a baby, Doctor Bailey?' Savoy asked condescendingly.

Bailey frowned. 'I don't see what that has to do with – '

'Sleep deprivation coupled with wild swings in hormone levels,' the ass interrupted her and stood up. 'Are factors that could cloud anyone's judgment.'

'I sleep just fine, Doctor Savoy,' Bailey said calmly, not letting him intimidate her.

'Really? 'Cause if a patient died due to my poor decision making, I'd probably lose a bit of sleep over it.'

Grace was mentally listening insults in the four languages she knew.

'Let me remind everyone,' the Chief said as he stood up, 'that our purpose here is not to place blame. This is a forum to discuss mistakes in patient care and learn from them.'

And the ass kept going. 'Well, so far, I haven't heard Doctor Bailey admit to a mistake.'

Grace got distracted when she heard muttering coming from Miranda's interns.

'So, for a period of several hours, your interns were running amok in the hospital, totally unsupervised.'

After a moment Miranda shook her head slightly. 'I'm waiting for a question.'

'The question is: where were you?'

'She was saving my life.' Grace said loudly, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. 'See, there was this little thing happening downstairs in the ER, I don't know if you heard, but two attendings were shot.' She smiled slightly and wheeled herself down to the front of the room easily. 'Not to mention almost a dozen other previous victims of the same shooter. Where were you when the most skilled attendings and residents were busy saving lives?'

There was some snickering in the room at this comment.

Savoy switched his gaze back to Miranda. 'The ER is always chaotic, that's no excuse. Did you page any of them at this time?'

'Yes, I paged them multiple times.' Miranda answered in a cool voice.

'Well, apparently, they thought it was okay to ignore your pages. Doctor, why do you think your interns hold such contempt for your authority?'

'You don't know what the hell you're talking about!' Karev burst out, and Grace already knew how this would play out.

'Doctor Karev, sit down.' Miranda's voice rang through the hall in a hard tone. 'Now.' Karev crossed his arms over his chest and sat in his seat with a disgruntled look. A few more sniggers ran through the room, Savoy looking just as annoyed as Karev.

Grace smiled pleasantly. 'Next question then?' Quite a few hands went up but Grace continued. 'Oh sorry, I meant from me.' Her tone made every hand slowly drop. 'So, first question, hands up who here has had a patient die during a surgery, whether you were the one cutting or not?'

Nobody moved.

'Don't be shy,' Grace said with a hard smile. 'Hands. Up.'

Slowly hands began to lift, Grace even lifted her own. There wasn't a single person without a hand up.

'Next question, who has had a patient die, when they were cutting, as a result of complications?'

Grace lifted her hand and others followed, obviously not as many now, but still a fair number.

'Last question,' Grace said in a hard tone. 'And keep in mind, I know every single one of you by name and by deed. Who here has had a patient die as a direct result of their actions or orders?'

Grace was the first person to raise their hand, but then Karev followed and slowly others did as well. After a long moment, making sure her point really sank in, Grace lowered her hand again, everyone copying her. In the silence that followed Grace spoke again.

'Nobody is completely without blame. We are a teaching hospital, people are here to learn, so mistakes will be made.' Grace sighed heavily and shot Savoy a dirty look. 'Any decent human being loses sleep when they lose a patient. Anyone who says different is a liar. Next time you try to tear someone down, make sure you have solid ground to stand on first. Chief Webber, perhaps this case should be put off for a month.'

Grace turned and wheeled herself out, silence reigning as she did.

* * *

After leaving the M&M, she found Mark coming down the corridor towards her not looking too happy with her.

'You were supposed to wait outside,' Mark said as he stopped in front of her, his arms crossed.

'I got antsy and needed a distraction.' Grace shrugged as Mark sighed and started pushing her. 'I figured I'd pass by here, and I'm glad I did! They were trying to tear Miranda apart over the Denny thing. I wasn't going to stand by and watch that. So, I showed them the odds.'

Mark was quiet for a moment before he put it together. 'You made them put their hands up, didn't you?'

'Yep.'

'Did they shut their mouths?'

'Yep.'

'Good for you.'

* * *

Grace saw Stevens walk out of the conference room Preston had been in all day. 'Mark, I'll be back in a minute.'

'Woah, where you going?' Mark jammed a foot in front of her chair without looking up from his paperwork.

'Just to talk to Preston, I'll be back in a minute.' She kicked his leg out of the way and wheeled off. At the door she stopped to speak. 'I'm not the best at lip reading, but I know enough.'

Preston just looked at her. 'What does that have to do with anything?'

'You told her, she has two good hands,' Grace wheeled into the room a bit more. 'There's something wrong with yours, isn't there?'

For a long moment Preston didn't say anything. Then he silently held out his right hand, at first Grace didn't see anything wrong and then it was obvious.

'I'm guessing you haven't told Derek?'

'No.'

Grace sighed. 'I'm guessing Cristina…?'

Preston nodded. 'Yes.'

'Preston…' Grace trailed off again. She did not like the position she was suddenly in. 'I…this topic never came up.' She turned and quickly left before she changed her mind.

* * *

Later that night, Mark came into her room and climbed onto the bed to lay beside Grace.

'She told him it wasn't a fling, didn't she?'

Mark nodded. 'He said I wasn't his friend.'

Grace, being careful of the new IV, just cuddling into Mark's arms. She didn't say anything, because there wasn't anything that could possibly help.


	36. Let The Angels Commit

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. I love getting every single alert. I'm in a good mood today, it's my son's 9th birthday and he's an amazing, kind and intelligent boy. He particularly liked the Harry Potter book box set we got him. Enjoy the chapter and have a great day!_

* * *

 _Commitment is the glue that bonds you to your goals._

* * *

 _ **Just met the slutty intern.**_

 _I think the term is now dirty ex-mistress._

 _ **That's too mature for an intern. Did you enjoy your birthday?**_

 _Yes, it was fun._

 _ **Sorry again that I didn't call on the day, but I couldn't find even an hour to get away.**_

 _It's fine. I know how much time being a surgeon demands._

 _ **Are we talking about your surgery at all?**_

 _No._

 _ **You'll have to get it eventually. Probably sooner than you want.**_

 _Oh god, who told her?_

 _ **Amelia let it slip.**_

 _She's not getting a birthday present._

 _ **You know what Mom is like. You can hardly blame her.**_

 _I suppose not._

 _ **Got to go. Derek is telling me off for not listening to him telling me off.**_

 _Come see me tomorrow._

 _ **Will do.**_

* * *

'Whoever is prodding me, better run, because you will die,' Grace said, not wanting to wake up just yet.

'You always were difficult to get out of bed.'

Grace blinked and saw Nancy sat beside her bed, one hand moving back from where it had been poking her side. 'What time is it?'

'Almost eight.'

'Ugh, Nance!' Grace pulled the covers over her head and moaned. 'You're a devil woman!'

Nancy just laughed. 'Well, if you don't want this hot chocolate…'

Grace stuck her hand out of the covers. 'Gimme.' When the cup was in her hand, Grace shifted the covers and adjusted her bed upright.

'How bad is it?'

Glancing at the other woman Grace saw she was looking at the slight tremble in her hands. 'Not so bad. I cut back on the sedative last week, which is why I can eat stuff besides fruit and jello, but that's worth this slight tremble.'

Nancy nodded and smiled. 'And how are you dealing with being in hospital for so long?'

Grace grimaced and shrugged. 'It's…hard, but I know it'd be impossible if Mark weren't popping in four or five times a day, and spending a bit of time with me before he leaves at night.'

'That man dotes on you; he spoils you rotten.'

'Yep. Have you seen him yet?'

Nancy shook her head. 'No, I came straight to your room, wanted to see how you were. How's your leg by the way?'

Grace wiggled the limb in question. 'Pretty much back to normal. I've done PT to keep it from stiffening up while I was drugged into staying in bed.'

'Kathleen told me to check you knew what a phone was.'

'Ugh…what is it with you Shepherds always butting in,' Grace said with a laugh softening the words. 'I'm fine, I don't need a shrink.'

Nancy gave her a sceptical look. 'Grace. You work all week in a hospital, no problem. But at the mere mention of you being here as a patient…' she trailed off and smirked as Grace shuddered. 'That. Or worse.'

Grace glared at her. 'I don't need a shrink. I've got Mark.'

'That you do,' Nancy replied quietly. 'But does he have you?'

'I'm pretty sure Mark is now the only person that doesn't know.' Grace said with a chuckle. 'Even Derek knows now.'

'Do you want him to know?' Nancy asked as she sat forward.

Grace just looked at her, not even really knowing the answer herself anymore.

* * *

Grace was doing some finger knitting when she saw Karev walk past her room with a phone stuck to his ear. 'Karev!'

'Doctor Mason, I'm – '

'Doing an errand for Doctor Sloan?' She asked with a smile on her face.

Karev grimaced and seemed to hesitate before coming into her room properly. 'At the risk of sounding like a jarhead or something, permission to speak freely?' Grace chuckled and waved her wool laden hand in permission. 'I know you love the guy, but seriously? Is he for real?'

'Mark is…a brilliant doctor. The best at what he does. But it's not quite sunk in that this is a teaching hospital. And he isn't good at teaching. You need to decide if you're going to stick it out with him, hope that maybe he'll pull his head out his ass or, go back to the specialty that has already sunk it's hooks into your mind.' She finished with a smug grin, giving him a knowing look.

He changed the subject. 'What you doing anyway?'

'Finger knitting, my hands aren't steady enough to do proper knitting for more than a couple of minutes, so…'

'Do you mind if I ask…if you weren't injured, how good would you be?'

'You had to do a lot of reading for Addison, you ever read about the double back method?'

Karev paused for a moment and then his eyes widened slightly. 'It was invented by an intern…I didn't even connect the name with you. How did that happen when you were an intern? You got a Harper Avery for that.'

'I might tell you some day, Alex.' Grace placed her finger knitting on a holder and got off the bed. 'But now you're going away because I'm going to the bathroom, plus, you're on the phone.'

* * *

'Hey, Richard,' Grace said as he walked in. 'Found someone to fix your button then?'

'You heard about that?' He asked with a frown.

She smiled widely. 'I have friends in all kinds of places, you know that.'

'The nurses, yes.' Richard chuckled as well before changing the subject. 'You're still hesitating.'

Grace pulled some wool from a bag as she answered. 'Yes.'

'Why?' Richard perched on the end of the bed. 'You know that the longer you wait, the more likely complications are, and you're more likely to have permanent residual effects. So why are you waiting?'

'Because…because if the worst happens…' Grace held up a hand a Richard protested. 'I know the odds but still. Right now, I'm all Mark has really. If the worst happened, he'd be alone.' She finished her explanation in a murmur. 'I won't do that to him.'

Richard placed a hand on her arm, not saying anything, but now understanding her hesitance.

Grace waved a hand at his shirt. 'Next time, make sure you always have more than one clean shirt, or better yet, call your wife.'

'I will,' Richard said with a nod as he stood up. 'It's just…'

'We both know you want to retire,' Grace said as she tried to decide on what wool to use. 'But Miranda can't take over just yet. You need to find someone willing to just be a stand in until she's ready.'

'I want you to do it.'

Grace choked on the water she'd just taken a sip of. 'What?!' She managed to force out on a wheezing breathe. 'What did you say?'

Richard just laughed at her. 'You'd be perfect for the job. Everyone in the hospital loves you, from the orderlies to the Attendings, you even manage to sweet talk the board and the lawyers when you need to. The few people who don't like you much, still respect you.'

'I – uh…that's…' Grace stopped when she couldn't make her brain engage.

'Think about it.' Richard said as he left the room.

Tyler walked in as he left. 'You alright? I heard you choking on something, but the Chief didn't panic so…' He checked her stats since he was there and marked them down.

Grace stared at the nurse. 'He wants me to be Chief.'

'Well, if the hospital was a democracy, you'd win by a landslide.' Tyler then walked out again after he replaced her chart.

* * *

 _Author Note - Regarding the 'double back method' - I made it up. It just needed something as a plot device._


	37. Where The Boys Are

_Author Note - Thank you for the follows/faves and reviews. Every alert tells me people like the story._

* * *

 _Always go too far, because that's where you'll find the truth._

* * *

Grace walking along a corridor when she overheard the last part of Miranda's conversation with Yang. After Miranda walked off, Grace approached the intern.

'I wonder how long that will last…' Grace said in an upbeat mood. 'The Nazi hasn't been like that since…a couple of years ago now.'

Yang turned to look at her. 'How long did it last then?'

'Well, let's put it this way,' Grace said as she started to walk off again. 'I hope the humpty dumpty was worth it. Because you'll probably be doing surgeries again just in time to choose your fellowship.'

* * *

Something was going on today.

Grace knew there was something.

Whenever she went walking around the hospital the nurses and orderlies were always happy to talk to her if they had the time. That was the same today, but there were more of them doing it than usual. And there was something off.

She'd been all over while stuck here, and despite the fact that she'd stayed away from the busier parts of the hospital, like the pit, today she was actually being _kept_ away from there. But she'd get there eventually.

* * *

Grace had managed to get past the nurses and he orderlies.

And she kind of wished she hadn't.

She was stood outside the trauma room where the young woman was giving birth to her dead baby. And it was hitting a little too close to home for her. The blinds were shut, but Grace had overheard the nurses talking.

Grace wasn't sure how long she'd been there when Addison and Callie came out of the room, both of them freezing for a moment when they saw her. They stepped out into the hall properly and came to stand in front of her.

'Gracie?' Addie said quietly as she put her hand on Grace's arm. 'How long have you been there?'

'A while.' Grace's eyes left the room to look at her friend. 'You told them to keep me away, but that only made me suspicious because I don't usually come here anyway. I can't move quick enough if I wind up in the way, so I just…' she looked back at the room. 'How far along?'

Addie sighed. 'Eight months. The babies neck…'

Grace nodded and realised she was shaking a bit too much. 'I think I'll need a ride back to my room.'

Callie was quick to grab a nearby wheelchair. 'I'll take you back up, if you like.' Grace just nodded.

* * *

Stirring as someone lay beside her on the bed, Grace saw Mark watching her. 'Hey, Markie.'

'Hey, Gracie.' He tossed his jacket onto the chair and kicked his shoes off. 'One of the nurses told me what happened. You okay?'

'No.' Grace woke up enough to see his face. 'I don't think you are either, not completely.'

'I was out having a couple of drinks with Meredith, went to the can and came back to find Derek introducing himself to her. She gave him another chance.' Mark got under the covers with her. 'I was disappointed 'cause Torres blew me off and I was hoping Meredith would be up for some fun. But mostly I was okay, because…he's my brother and she makes him happy.'

Grace cuddled into him, still kind of drifting. 'There's more though.'

'My brother hates me, Gracie. He can't stand the sight of me.' He held onto her tighter, almost whispering it into her ear.

'Want me to pick on him for you?'

She felt Mark's chest shift under her as he laughed quietly. 'Nah. I kind of deserve this one, don't you think?'

'No.'

There was a pause. 'That's it, just…no?'

'He was wrong when he said…he had no obligation to try with you.' Grace broke off and yawned. 'You're…his brother. Means he should…have tried…harder…' she trailed off, hearing Mark say something but didn't understand the words.


	38. Staring At The Sun

_Author Note – Song used is Walk Beside Me by Celtic Woman_

* * *

 _We all have a blind spot and it's shaped exactly like us._

* * *

'Doctor Mason? Is it casual day?'

Grace backed up a few steps and found O'Malley's Dad in the room, laid in the bed.

'Mr O'Malley, I'd say it was good to see you again but…' she gestured at his bed. 'You are clearly not at your best.'

Mr O'Malley shrugged slightly before wincing. 'Not so much. So, is it casual day?' He gestured for her to come in.

Grace walked in and sat down, not understanding what he meant but then realised she was in her pyjamas. 'Oh, er no, not casual day. I'm not at my best at the moment either. I'm kind of a long term patient at the moment.'

'I hope it's nothing serious,' Mr O'Malley said with a frown.

'Immediately? Not really, I need to have a surgery though.' Grace changed the subject. 'How did you end up here?'

Mr O'Malley chuckled. 'Seems I passed out, knocked myself about on the floor, broke my collarbone.'

'Ouch,' Grace winced in sympathy. 'I've broken my collarbone before, not much fun.'

'No, no it isn't.' Mr O'Malley gestured at the IV. 'One of the doctors, Torres I think her name was, put me on some morphine so it's not so bad now.'

Grace spotted the jackets on the other chair and pointed at them. 'Where are your boys then?'

'They went to get something to eat, we were in here late last night and they came back early this morning.'

'They're good boys,' Grace said with a smile. 'But hey, at least you aren't here because one of them shot you this time.'

That set Mr O'Malley off laughing and then groaning as his shifted his shoulder and arm. 'Oh, don't make me laugh Doctor Mason, I don't think Georgie would be too happy if I undid the other doctor's work.'

* * *

Mark walked into Grace's room and tossed a subway packet at her as he sat on the edge of the bed. 'Got you lunch, and this one is muffins.' He handed over another bag and opened his own.

'You mean you sent Karev and Stevens to get lunch, and your dry cleaning, and you brought it up here.'

'Did they snitch?' Mark asked passed a mouthful of pastrami sandwich.

'That's disgusting,' Grace scrunched her nose at him. 'And no, they didn't have to, the nurses like me remember? I have eyes and ears everywhere.'

Mark looked out the window at the nurse's station. 'That's cheating, isn't it?' He looked back at her. 'I'm pretty sure that's cheating, Gracie.'

Grace shook her head and swallowed her mouthful before speaking. 'No, it's using all the resources at my disposal.'

'Pretty sure that's just a nice way to say you're cheating.'

'I would never do that,' Grace replied with an innocent smile.

'Mm,' Mark ate more of his sandwich and then quickly swallowed again. 'Oh, I walked into my patient's room, just before coming here, and I found Blondie fondling my patient and Karev.'

'What's he in for?' Grace asked, trying not to choke on her sandwich.

'Pec implants.'

Grace shrugged and collected a few fallen olives. 'Then she was probably comparing pecs. The patient probably asked her to.'

'Mm, probably, he is that type.'

* * *

Grace was restless later that night, she was wandering the halls, in her pyjamas and dressings gown, with no destination in mind. It was her favourite dressing gown.

Mark had bought it for her ten years ago, when they were on holiday in China. It was black with an elaborate blue and green Chinese dragon covering the back and blue and green patterns on the sleeves. But she'd worn and washed it so much, the colours had faded, the black was greyish and the blue and green weren't anywhere near as bright anymore.

'Doctor Mason?'

She chuckled softly and backed up again. 'Mr O'Malley, we've got to stop meeting like this.'

'Call me Harold, no need for all that Mister stuff.'

'Call me Grace then,' she replied as she walked over and sat at his bedside. 'I saw George earlier.'

Harold nodded. 'I get the impression that just about everybody in the hospital likes you, I know for sure my Georgie does.'

Grace chuckled. 'I've been told that before. He told me what's wrong with you.' She smiled softly at Harold as he nodded sadly. 'He was…upset with himself, because he couldn't manage to tell you himself.'

'That sounds like Georgie,' Harold said with a sigh. 'They say I've got a dicky ticker, they've got to fix that before they can start fixing the cancer.'

'Yeah, did they explain why?' Grace knew, from speaking with George, that Harold wasn't too good at following the medical talk.

Harold nodded. 'Yeah, something about making sure I was strong enough for the cancer surgery. I kinda wish they'd explain everything how Doctor Torres did. She said the type of cancer I've got is like the crap that builds up in fuel pipes and get transferred to the rest of the car.'

'That is the perfect way to describe it.' Grace said with a smile. 'The heart surgery it's like…like you've got a hole in your engine. Now we patch that up, the engine is working at full steam and we can take the car off road and not have to worry about the engine giving in.'

Harold's face cleared up a bit. 'I get that, thanks.' He frowned slightly. 'Doctor Mason, Grace, tell me, how good are my odds for surviving this?'

Grace sat forward a bit. 'The heart surgery is relatively simple. The other one, to get the cancer…that's a lot more involved, like having to strip the engine right back. It depends a lot on what they see when they get in there, the tests we do, don't always show everything.'

'Thanks Grace,' Harold said with a smile. 'I can see why everybody likes you. You have a way with people.'

'I am pretty amazing right?' Grace said with an overly smug look, preening slightly and buffing her nails on her chest.

Harold laughed and then winced. 'I told you to stop doing that, Doc.'

'Sorry.' Grace replied with a grin. 'So, change the subject, we're getting way too dreary.'

'I heard one of the nurse's talking about you,' Harold said after a moment of thinking. 'They were talking about you singing in the elevator when Georgie did that surgery in there. They said you're really good. And that you keep doing it in your room at night.'

Grace blushed brightly. 'I really need to figure out how to stop singing when I'm sedated.'

Harold chuckled again but quickly stopped. 'Would you sing me a song Grace? I asked Georgie about it, you know if it had been distracting. But he said it reminded him of the way his Mom sang to the boys when they were sick.'

'Yeah, he told me that as well. It's always a compliment to be compared to someone's Mom.'

'So…will you?'

Grace hesitated and then caved at the look she got. It was clear where George got his puppy side from. 'Okay. Anything in particular?'

Harold shook his head. 'Whatever comes to mind.'

 _A child begins with one single step  
Then walks a million miles  
And though these wings are not ready yet  
I will try to fly_

 _My eyes can't see_  
 _My arms can't reach_  
 _I need strength when I'm weak_  
 _I need your faith in me_

Grace sang and at the end she realised Harold had actually fallen asleep.


	39. Don't Stand So Close To Me

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. I love hearing what you think of the story._

* * *

 _Sometimes the best way to stay close to someone you love is by being just a friend._

* * *

Grace looked at Richard as he came out of the room he'd just yelled at Burke in. 'You should tell Adele.'

'Would she listen?' Richard asked with a sigh as they started walking together. 'I know she's visited you…I'm pretty sure she asked Patricia when I was in surgery so she could avoid me.'

'There's no guarantee she'd listen,' Grace said, ignoring the second part. 'But maybe she needs to see that you haven't given up. That you still choose her.'

Richard chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. 'How did you get so smart about relationships, when you've never even been in one?'

Grace shrugged. 'Meh, I'm awesome, that's how.'

* * *

Grace saw Derek sitting in an empty room and walked in.

'You know how people say, from your lips to God's ears?' Derek asked without looking up. 'Well now people say from your lips to Grace's ears. They say you know everything that happens in this hospital.'

'Perhaps.' Grace went over to sit beside him. 'I hear things, but knowing you means I can read between the lines. You've let the Burke thing shake you. You're letting his resentment define who you are as a surgeon.'

Derek looked at her with a slight smile. 'You sound like Miranda.'

Grace chuckled. 'Well, with two highly intelligent women telling you the same thing, I'd think you'd be smart enough to listen.'

'Yeah, you'd think so.' Derek laughed and then turned serious again. 'So, why don't you want me to operate?'

'That's not you,' Grace said with a sigh. 'The only person that even crosses my mind when I think of the surgery is Mark. I know the odds of death are miniscule, but I don't want to leave Mark, I don't –

'Want him thinking he talked you into it, into your death.' Derek interrupted quietly.

Grace nodded. 'Yeah. My issue has never been you. Even when we didn't like each other, it wasn't you that held me back. You're the only one I'd let cut me open and prod at my brain.

Derek smiled a bit. 'Thanks Grace.'

'So, are you going to stop being silly,' Grace said threateningly. 'Or should I call your mother and get her to have words with you?'

'No!' Derek said quickly, and with a laugh. 'There's no need for that.'

'Good.'


	40. Six Days

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. We're past the half way point in the story now. Make of that what you will._

* * *

 _Thinking about death clarifies your life._

* * *

Grace woke up when someone climbed into bed with her. It was early enough that there was no light creeping past the blinds yet. 'You want to talk about it?'

'I might yell at you if I do.' Mark said quietly, hugging her against him.

'I can take it,' Grace said as she hugged him back.

Mark shook his head slightly. 'I'll talk about it next week, Gracie, but not now.'

'Okay.' Grace breathed in the familiar smell of Mark and went back to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Grace was already awake when Mark arrived. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw him.

'It's not funny Gracie,' he said with a grumpy expression as he put a bagel and hot chocolate on the table for her. His hair was still plastered to his head and his jacket and jeans were dripping.

'Oh it is,' Grace said with a smirk. 'I told you to get a better jacket. I warned you, that you would need it, but nooo, Mark Sloan knows better than the woman that's lived here for more than a decade.'

Mark smirked back at her then, before she could stop him, shook his head right next to her, splattering her with rain water. 'You're always telling me to share, Gracie. There you go.' He walked out, laughing his head off.

'You jerk Mark Sloan!'

* * *

Grace was sat in Harold's room, playing cards with him, one of her legs stretched out to ease the tremors a bit.

'I told the doctors, er…Webber and Bailey, I told them to take it out. Even if the cancer is everywhere.'

She paused in the middle of deciding what card to place to look at him. After a moment she took her turn. 'Without taking it out you'd get…three… _maybe_ four months if you were lucky. And that's with chemo making you sick as a dog for a good part of it.' Grace frowned when Harold placed a card that did not help her at all. 'If they take it out, as much as possible, then your recovery chances go down by a whack. But, if, _if_ you do recover, you'd have chemo, be sick as a dog but you'd have a chance at years, not months.'

Harold nodded. 'Thought so, I figure, I have to do right by my family, even if it's the last thing I do. I have a…duty, to fight for them, to fight to be _with_ them. If I let them just stitch me up, with the tumour still inside, I'm not fighting my hardest.'

Grace chuckled. 'And you O'Malleys are a tough bunch.'

'That we are, Grace, that we are.' Harold said with an answering laugh, before turning serious. 'Grace if…it goes bad, will you look out for Georgie for me? Keep an eye on him?'

'I will,' Grace said, watching him closely. 'I promise. You just concentrate on making sure I don't have to.'

Harold held his hand out over the table and they shook. 'You've got a deal, Doc.'

* * *

'I am 99 percent sure Stevens just donated three hundred grand so a patient could get a surgery.'

Grace looked up as Miranda all but slammed a hot chocolate on her table. 'Good morning, Miranda, good to see you too.' She sipped the drink. 'I take it you're talking about the VATOR patient?'

Miranda nodded. 'I better hear her telling me that she gave that money over so she could scrub in.'

'I think you're going to be disappointed.'

With a dark look on her face, Miranda turned and left the room.

* * *

'I almost kissed Karev last night.'

Grace choked on her hot chocolate ten minutes later. 'Pardon?!'

Addie just gave her a look. 'The only reason we didn't was because another doctor walked into the room. What should I do?'

'Addie…' Grace hated what she was about to say. 'You know I can't do the friend thing with you this week. I told you that the other day.'

'I know, I know,' Addie groaned and briefly cradled her head in her hands. 'I wasn't really asking, I just…needed to rant.'

Grace nodded. 'If it's still stressing you after this week, you know where to find me.'

Addie nodded and patted her arm before she left.

* * *

That night, Mark climbed into bed with her. Neither of them said anything.

However short lived and traumatic Marcus' life had been, those four weeks had given Mark a taste of being a father. He had split his time between watching her while she was unconscious and sitting with Marcus as he struggled to live. In every way that mattered he had been a Dad. And when he had gotten another chance, it had been taken away, again.

There weren't any words either of them could find that would fill the holes within them.

* * *

Grace wheeled herself into the family room where, George, Mrs O'Malley and the VATOR girl's Mum were…well waiting.

George looked at her in surprise. 'Doctor Mason. What are you doing here?'

'I was stressing by myself, so I thought you could keep me company instead.' She placed the box on her knee onto the table. 'One of the nurses went a bought a bunch of muffins for me. You need to keep your strength. You as well Mrs Douglas.'

George was going to protest as both women thanked her and took a muffin, but then Grace just gave him a look and he took a muffin.

It wasn't long after that George realised, from listening to his Mum, that his Dad had asked them to go ahead with the surgery. After Mrs Douglas left with Stevens, George stood up.

'I'll be back in a few minutes Mom.' He gave her a kiss and left the room

'What was that about?'

Grace hesitated for a moment. 'George, must be wanting to check things with Harold's doctors again.'

Mrs O'Malley nodded and picked up another muffin, but she didn't really eat it, just pick at it slightly.

* * *

Grace was sat near the nurse's station when George emerge from his father's room. He walked past them all without really seeing any of them. After a moment Cristina followed him. This seemed to stir the others, Stevens wandered off somewhere, then Grey and then Karev.

'I really wish I could get drunk.' Grace said with a sigh as she rolled away.

'Have the operation and you could.' Callie called out after her.


	41. Great Expectations

_Author Note - Thanks for all the follows/faves and reviews. More to come tomorrow._

* * *

 _Sometimes we expect more from others because we would be willing to do that much for them._

* * *

Grace frowned as she got her IV fitted again. The tremors had gotten worse of the last week so she needed more medication to counteract it. Luckily she had adjusted to being stuck in the hospital, so as of a couple of weeks ago she no longer had to be doped up to keep her calm enough to be here.

She frowned at the sight of the latest CT and MRI images on the light box. The tumour had grown. She had gotten one of her residents to do the scans, in the middle of the night, when Mark, Addie, Miranda and Derek were all out of the hospital.

Grace looked at Debbie who was watching her carefully as she finished the IV. 'Can you put them back in my chart please?'

Debbie nodded and did as she asked. 'You gonna tell them?'

'No, not right now.' Grace sighed heavily. 'And nobody lets them know either, please.'

'As long as you tell them soon,' Debbie agreed reluctantly. 'They should know.'

Grace smiled and nodded. 'I promise.'

* * *

'You realise I'm not technically the head of the department at the moment?'

'I still want you to back me.' Miranda said stubbornly.

Grace shrugged. 'Sure, you got a letter for me to sign?'

Miranda grinned and happily handed over the letter that already had what Grace would have to contribute written down. 'Thank you, thank you.'

'No problem, I've got no issue with helping.' Grace signed and then handed the letter back. 'Have at it, Miranda.'

* * *

'They're all going nuts.' Grace said as she rolled along beside Richard. 'The nurses are laughing their asses off.'

Richard ran a hand over his eyes. 'I don't care, it's not gonna be my problem soon enough. I just wish…'

Grace knew what he wished and felt a little guilty she couldn't give that to him. 'I know.'

Up ahead the four asses were waiting, and as soon as they saw Richard they all started shouting at him, trying to be heard over the others. Grace immediately wheeled back out of the way. Hating the way this had made them all. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself as she felt her hands tense.

When the shouting picked up again she saw Miranda heading off after Richard. She looked at her four colleagues, at their bickering, and snapped.

'Shut up! Shut up, shut up, _shut up_!' Grace all but screamed.

There was silence in front of her. After a moment Mark saw her hands and went to step forward.

'Don't even think about touching me!' She snapped out, making him freeze in shock. 'I am sick of this. I am sick of hearing all of you bitch about your problems!' Grace glared at all of them. It wasn't that she didn't like her friends talking to her about her problems, but they seemed to forget they weren't the only ones with problems.

'I'm sick of Preston bitching about his pathetic power struggle with Cristina – shut up!' She said before Preston could interrupt. 'I'm sick of Addie bitching about Karev. But most of all I'm sick of you two.' She glared at Mark and Derek. 'You just make me sick!

'I had more films done last night, my tumour has grown.' She glared as they all went to speak. 'Shut up! I can't even remember the last time any of you asked about my health. I've been off sedatives for two weeks now, and none of you noticed.' Grace hated that she was almost crying, she always did when she was this angry. 'I am literally dying, and you are fighting like children.'

Mark stepped forward but she stopped him with a lift of her hand.

'So here's the deal. You two,' she pointed at Mark and Derek. 'You two have been brothers pretty much your entire lives. The day I have the surgery,' Grace paused to make sure they were listening. 'Is the day you two kiss and makeup.'

With that she turned and a nearby nurse who had been listening in, immediately came over and began to wheel her away as her hands failed to grasp the wheel rims correctly.


	42. Walking, Drowning, Miracle

_We were hoping for the best but preparing for the worst._

 _The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen._

* * *

It was the middle of the night and Grace wasn't asleep. She was just laid in her bed, looking out the window, trying to think of nothing.

However, that was interrupted when George and Callie came creeping into her room.

'What are you doing here?' She asked glancing at the clock. 'At one in the morning.'

George took the lead. 'Before I left for the night a couple of the nurses told me about what happened near the Chief's office. And I told Callie.'

'And I figured,' Callie said with a smile. 'That considering the circumstances, we would spring you from this place for a little while.'

'What?' Grace was utterly confused and had no problem showing it.

George grinned slightly. 'I proposed to Callie and she said yes. We're going to go to Vegas, and we want you to go with us.'

'We thought, it might cheer you up.' Callie finished with a smile.

For a long moment, Grace just stared at them in shock, and just as their happy smiles started to waver. 'When do we leave?'

* * *

Grace was settled back on top of her bed, the IV back in place, and the quiet was interrupted by Mark's arrival.

He paused in the doorway, before silently walking in and putting a hot chocolate and a muffin on the table.

'Thanks.'

'I saw O'Malley and Callie in the new clinic.' Mark said after a moment. 'Callie said she wasn't sure if you'd want to see me.'

Grace shrugged. 'I always want to see you Mark, that will never change.' She saw some of the tension leave Mark's body. 'I just…I'm not changing my mind.'

'Why?' Mark asked as he perched on the bed beside her. 'You need the surgery, why put a condition like that on your agreement?'

'Because I need to know you have your family back before I'm cut open.' Grace said with a slight smile. 'Just in case.'

Mark reached out and grabbed her hands. 'Gracie – '

Grace shook her head. 'No, Mark. I know you hate talking about it, and I know there is little chance of it, but I _could_ die from the surgery. I don't want you alone if that happens.'

With a heavy sigh Mark leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Grace couldn't help but lean into him. Being away with Callie and George, seeing how happy they were, it had made her realise, that maybe she wasn't content with just being friends with Mark.

* * *

Later, after the whole toxic blood thing, Grace had wheeled herself down to the ER, with the intention of seeing her friends. She got there in time to see Mark and Richard leave through another door. And in time to hear Derek speak.

'How come we do all the work and he gets all the glory?

Addie briefly moved her oxygen mask. 'Because he's Mark.'

'Unbelievable,' Grace said sharply, gaining their attention.

'Grace…' Addie started, but trailed off at Grace's look.

Grace shook her head. 'He did the right thing. He's currently the only surgical attending that's healthy, even the Chief was down. And all you can think of is glory.' She turned and wheeled away from the ER again.

* * *

Given that she was mostly alright, Grace helped out by directing the nurses and keeping track of the patients that were unrelated to the ferry accident. This meant that there was less for the working surgeons to worry about. It also meant the nurses had a chain of command they could go to, which kept the chaos to a minimum, mostly.

* * *

Grace was going along the corridor with Mark. He'd been touching base with her when they found out about Meredith. She came to a stop when she saw Derek sat on the floor outside the trauma room.

'Gracie?' Mark said as he copied her.

'He doesn't need me,' she told him quietly, before looking up at him. 'He needs his brother.'

Mark paused before nodding and going down to Derek. The neurosurgeon didn't really look at him, but made no effort to push Mark away as he sat down and put his hand on Derek's arm.

Grace couldn't help but smile slightly as she watched them. Maybe they weren't doomed after all.

* * *

Later that night Grace was getting ready to go to sleep when Mark came in.

'Addie says we can make a go of it.'

'What?' This was news to Grace. Addie had been stressing over her attraction to Karev for weeks.

Mark frowned slightly. 'Well first she says we have to go sixty days without sex. Then we can do the couple thing.'

Grace made herself smile. 'Well, I hope it works then. You both deserve a chance to be happy.'

'Thanks, Gracie,' Mark said as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. 'I'm going back to the hotel, I need a long hot bath. I'll see you in the morning.'

'Okay, I'll see you.'

After he was gone, Grace let her smile drop. She was glad he was happy, she always would be, but that didn't stop her heart from hurting.


	43. Scars And Souvenirs

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _The scars you can't see are the hardest to heal._

* * *

Grace wheeled herself around a corner and almost crashed into the Chief. 'Whoa! Sorry Richard!'

'That's okay Grace, I was busy talking.' Richard gestured to the man beside him. 'Grace this is Doctor Colin Marlow. Colin, this is Doctor Grace Mason. She's the usual head of Maternity and an amazing neonatal and gynaecological surgeon, however she's on medical leave at the moment.'

Doctor Marlow held out his hand. 'I've heard of you, Doctor Mason, I have a few friends at Harvard who raved about you. It's a pleasure to meet you. And please, call me Colin.'

Grace smiled slightly, ignoring the suggestive tilt to his smile. 'Grace then. And it's a pleasure to meet you as well. I saw your article in JACS a couple of months ago, it was a good read.'

'Thank you, I was happy to write about the case, it's not often something like that comes about.'

'Well, I'll let you get on then,' Grace said as she looked back at the Chief. 'I'll see you for lunch Richard?'

Richard nodded back at her. 'Of course, I'll meet you in your room. And yes, I'll bring you a hot chocolate.'

Grace chuckled as she wheeled herself away again.

* * *

'I told George I'm rich and now he's freaking out.' Callie announced as she burst into the room. Realising a little late that she wasn't the only one there. 'Oh. Chief. Hi. I'll just…come back later.

'It's fine Doctor Torres, sorry, Doctor O'Malley.' Richard aimed an amused look at Grace. 'I was just leaving. I'll see you later Grace.'

'See you, Chief.' She smiled and then turned to Callie. 'You didn't tell him before? I thought you had.'

Callie sank onto the end of her bed. 'No, because guys always change when they find out. And now – '

Grace chuckled. 'Well yeah, but chances are George is more pissed about not knowing before you got married, rather than freaking out about the money itself.'

'You think?' Callie asked. 'He seemed worse when I told him I used the money he gave me to tip housekeeping.'

'You what?' Grace said with wide eyes. 'Callie, you should have told him! It's one thing to omit the fact you have money but to let him believe he's contributing?'

Callie looked sad and a little betrayed. 'I thought you'd be on my side with this.'

Grace shook her head. 'No. I'm sorry, Callie, but I'm with George on this.'

'You don't know what it's like to have money ruin – '

'I do actually,' Grace's tone matched Callie's angry one. 'And I also know what's it's like to have to count the pennies. My Grandparents had jobs, but we still had to watch everything we spent. I got into Harvard on a full scholarship and I worked my ass off to keep it.

'My Grandparents were killed in an accident and the company of the driver responsible gave me a huge settlement my second year. The year after I won tons more on the lottery that I bought while drunk.' Grace sighed and ran a hand through her hair. 'Aside from Mark, pretty much all my friends changed after I got the money, so in the end I just dropped them and spent my time with Mark.'

Callie looked a little ashamed. 'I'm sorry, I didn't realise.'

Grace shook her head. 'It's fine. But I know both sides of the story, Callie, and I'm with George on this.'

* * *

Grace glared at Mark when he walked in a muffin a hot chocolate.

'What?' He asked, looking confused. 'What did I do now?'

'Oh, so you, Addie and Derek _weren't_ having another shouting match in the halls?'

'Oh.' Mark said as he put her treats down in front of her. 'You heard about that?'

Grace nodded out the observation window at the nurse's station. 'Remember, I know everything.'

Mark nodded and waved slightly at Debbie who was giving him a hard look. The head nurse was less than impressed with the attendings, especially because they kept upsetting Grace.

'Just when I thought things were looking up,' Grace sigh with a quiet sigh. 'Are you coming back for dinner later?'

'Yeah, I've got a surgery but I'll be done in time.'

Grace nodded. 'Yeah, facelift on the fifty-two year old.'

'How – ' he stopped when Grace nodded out the window again. 'Right. You know everything.'

* * *

Late on that night, Richard stopped by. He just stood at the door, looking at her. 'After a day like today, if there was anyone else you'd trust to do the surgery, I'd fly them out here. I'd make you have the surgery and get yourself sorted just so I could have an attending that wasn't stuck up her own backside.'

Grace chuckled. 'After a day like today, I'd let you. But there isn't.'

Richard nodded and sighed. 'I'll see you in the morning Grace.'

'See you.' Grace then yelled after him as he disappeared. 'And remember my McDonalds.'

A distant laugh was her only reply.

* * *

 _Author Note – JACS stands for Journal of the American College of Surgeons._


	44. My Favourite Mistake

_A goal without a plan is just a wish._

* * *

'So, I'm gonna let Grey do the bone.' Mark said as Grace finished looking over game plan for Jane Doe's surgery.

Grace looked up in surprise. 'You think she can do it?' Even surgeons with years of work under their belt occasionally fragmented bone grafts.

'I do.' Mark replied, taking back the notes. 'Besides, the way the Chief looked at her this morning? Nah, she's needs to prove to him, to everyone that she's still a surgeon. That, just because her Mom died doesn't mean she isn't one anymore.'

'I knew you'd do it eventually.' Grace said with a smile.

'Do what?'

Grace chuckled and picked up her book. 'Figure out how to be a teacher. Now, go away, I was at a really good bit before you came in complaining about Derek again.'

Mark laughed as well and dropped a kiss on her forehead as he left the room.

* * *

Derek came into her room and dropped a small bag on her table. 'I was out yesterday and saw this. Not sure if you still collect them, but…I figured I might as well. It goes with me saying sorry for not keeping up with your health, especially when I know I'm the only one you'll consider letting near you with a scalpel.'

Grace marked her page and picked up the bag. 'Apology accepted.' She pulled out the tissue wrapped present and ripped it off to reveal a copy of Jane Eyre. Grace couldn't help but smile. 'Thanks Derek, and yes, I still collect copies. And I don't think I have this version.'

'Good, I'm glad you like it.' Derek tossed the ripped paper in the bin for her. 'So, I'm curious, why do you collect them?'

'It's the first book I read by myself.' Grace said as she flipped through the worn pages. 'An actual novel I mean, rather than a kids book. I was eight, I loved it, except the red room parts.'

Derek nodded and smiled. 'That's a great reason to have a collection of…what eighty…ninety copies?'

Grace grinned. 'This one makes it 102 actually.'

'Wow, okay. I'll see you later Grace.' As he turned to leave, Grace stopped him.

'Thanks, for not bitching about him again. I appreciate it.'

Derek glanced back at her and nodded before leaving her to her reading.

* * *

'Your boyfriend is an ass.' Miranda said as walked in. Placing a container of food on the table. 'Your dinner, Tuck made mac n' cheese last night.'

'Thanks,' Grace said happily as she accepted the plastic fork. 'And I don't have a boyfriend.'

Miranda gave her an unimpressed look. 'You know who I mean, don't get smart with me.'

'You're talking about the fact that Mark came in saying you were the best inspiration and his new best friend?'

'He's an ass, got me to do his work for him.'

Grace just shrugged. 'Does it matter? If the hospital gets what's needed for the patients, now, does it matter how it comes about?'

Miranda rolled her eyes at her. 'He's still an ass.'

'I'm usually the first one to agree with that assessment.' Grace said past a mouthful of food. 'Say thanks to Tuck for me, yeah?'

'Sure. He said he'd stop by tomorrow with the little man so you can see him again.'

Grace couldn't help but grin widely at the thought of seeing her godson. 'Good, I guess that means his cold is gone then?'

'Yeah, and not before time. I'll see you tomorrow as well. Goodnight.'

'Night Miranda.'


	45. Time After Time

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. I love every alert I get._

* * *

 _To communicate the truths of history is an act of hope for the future._

* * *

'Hey, Richard.' Grace said as the Chief got off the lift.

'Grace,' he smiled slightly before walking off, only to stop when Mark, who was still in the lift, called after him.

'We'd make a great team.'

The Chief just looked at him and then walked off. Grace chuckled and wheeled in to the lift, Mark stepping back to let the doors shut.

'Great team for what?' She asked as the lift set off.

'He totally crashed when a woman flirted with him.' Mark said with a grin. 'She got off two floors early.'

Grace shook her head. 'He was with Adele for years Mark. He'll get back into it if and when he's ready. Don't be pushy.'

Mark chuckled and started reading the file in his hand. 'If you say so. But he will need a wingman.'

'He's years out of practice, if he needs a wingman, it'll need to be a woman.' Grace smirked up at him. 'After all, someone on the team should know what a woman wants.'

'Ouch Gracie,' Mark said as she started roll out of the lift again. 'That's mean.'

'See you later Mark.'

* * *

Grace rolled along a corridor after rounds and knocked on a doorway. 'Hi there.'

The Jane Doe looked at her. 'Er…hi. Can I help you?'

'I'm Grace Mason,' Grace said as she wheeled in. 'Alex or Doctor Sloan has probably mentioned me.'

'Oh yeah, they have,' she smiled and shifted in her bed. 'It's nice to meet you.'

Grace smiled back. 'And you, you're going by Ava for now, right?'

'Yeah, Alex mentioned it when he was helping me pick a face.' Ava said with a wider smile.

'Well, Ava, I just wanted to bring this.' Grace held out a small gift bag. 'I thought, you might like it.'

Ava took the bag with a surprised expression. 'Thank you, you didn't have to.'

'I know, but I wanted to.'

Opening the bag Ava pulled out the thick book of puzzles, the pack of pens and the hairbrush and hand mirror set.

'Thank you, these are beautiful.' Ava said as she looked at the matching yellow and white design on the brush and mirror.

'I thought you might enjoy doing something for yourself, despite being stuck in bed.' Grace said happily. 'And puzzle books are always handy to stave off boredom.'

Ava smiled back at her. 'You really are as nice as Alex says.'

* * *

'Hey there.'

Grace glanced up and smiled at Preston. 'Hey, you between patients?'

'Yes,' Preston walked in and handed her a hot chocolate. 'I was getting coffee and thought I'd stop by.'

'Thanks.' Grace took a sip of the hot drink, it was made just the way she liked. 'So, I hear Yang is being…nice. And is wearing nail polish of all things.'

Preston chuckled and sipped his coffee before answering. 'Yes she is.'

Grace chuckled as well. 'I might not know her all that well, but I do know this. She would never have considered marriage with him. She said yes to you, all her faults, all her doubts, she still said yes. To you.'

Something in Preston's eyes seemed to ease at her words. 'I know.'

'Good. Now, did you bring any cookies?'

Preston pulled a paper bag from his pocket and handed over a double chocolate chip cookie.

* * *

Grace saw Stevens rolling past and called out to her. 'You alright Doctor Stevens?'

Backing up little, Stevens stopped in the doorway. 'I'm fine, I just…I'm fine.'

Despite her claims to the otherwise, Grace didn't know every single detail of everything. She did know the Stevens had donated marrow to a kid that had checked into paeds though. Even with some puzzle pieces missing it was relatively easy to see the picture.

'Well,' Grace said slowly. 'I'm still stuck here, you know where I am if you want to talk.'

Stevens hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding. 'Thanks Doctor Mason.'


	46. Desire

_Author Note - Sorry for the delay. Real life gave me a bit of a knock._

* * *

 _Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get._

* * *

'28 days.' Mark said as he walked in.

Grace raised an eyebrow. 'Have you finally started tracking your cycle Mark? I told you to do that years ago.'

'Funny.' Mark said as he sat on the end of her bed. He pull her table across and started unloading the breakfast he'd brought for the two of them. 'No, until mine and Addie's bargain is done. And then – '

'You'll be doing the McNasty in the on-call room?'

Mark rolled his eyes. 'You're rather…snarky this morning Gracie.' He said, his amusement being replaced with seriousness. 'You okay?'

Grace shrugged a little. 'Mostly, my head is just hurting a bit this morning. I'm fine.'

'You should get more films done. Just to check.' Mark said in a light tone that fooled neither of them.

'In a few days,' Grace said as she started ripping a pancake apart. 'I'm just a bit…meh at the moment. I don't need to have a panic attack in the middle of it so I'll wait a few days.'

Mark nodded and began eating. 'Stop playing with your food. You look like a two year old.'

Grace scowled and threw a bit a pancake at him. To her frustration he managed to bend enough to catch it in his mouth and then he grinned at her.

* * *

Grace wheeled round the corner, knocked on the door and then wheeled in. 'Larry, I heard you'd been checked in. Thought – oh god!' Grace clamped a hand over her eyes. 'That will teach me to just walk into rooms.'

'You mean wheel don't you?' Larry said with a tense chuckle. 'You still not gotten your head fixed? If you had you be saving me from these hounds.'

Grace chuckled and removed her hand but kept her eyes averted. 'Larry.'

Larry interrupted her. 'What? You know, I know and Richard knows. If you were healthy you'd be the only one the board would even look at for Chief.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Grace said, fighting a blush as she saw the looks Mark, Preston and Derek were giving her. 'What? Quit looking at me like that!'

'How long have you known that Gracie?' Mark asked.

Grace shrugged. 'Dunno…' she glanced at Richard and Miranda, neither of whom were offering any help. 'About four…'

'Four what?' Derek asked as she trailed off.

''Bout four years.' Grace said before pasting a fake smile on her face. 'Larry, I'll stop by in a while. Miranda, Richard.' And then she wheeled out of there before her friends could start complaining at her.

* * *

Mark came in and nudged Grace over until he could recline beside her. When he didn't say anything, just put his arm around her shoulders, Grace went back to reading.

It took five minutes before he broke the silence.

'I saw Addison coming out of the on-call room with Karev.'

Grace put her book down and turned into him, sliding an arm across his waist.

'She doesn't want me. Don't think she ever has.' Mark mumbled into her hair.

Grace silently ran her fingers up and down Mark's arm, knowing he didn't need her to say anything yet.

'Then I went and asked Grey to do a quick turn with me in the on-call room.'

Her fingers paused briefly before resuming their path across his skin.

'I didn't even want her. I think…I think I wanted to hurt Addison the same way Derek hurt her.'

Now was when he needed her to talk.

'Like she hurt you,' Grace said quietly. 'You wanted to be close to someone, even if it wasn't real. You wanted…to feel wanted.'

Mark held her closer. 'Yeah.'

Grace sighed and tightened her grip on him. 'It's why you keep needling Derek. If he didn't care he wouldn't react as much as he does. So you keep getting him to react, so you know he still cares.'

'You know me better than I know myself sometimes, Gracie.'

'Of course I do,' Grace replied with a smile. 'You're too thick headed to know better.'

Mark actually laughed at that. 'Oh, feeling the love.'

They laughed together for a moment before falling into a comfortable silence.

'You…' Grace hesitated slightly. 'You aren't leaving again…right?'

Mark pulled her closer. 'Never.'

Grace smiled into his chest. 'Okay.'


	47. The Other Side Of This Life

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews, I appreciate every one._

* * *

 _I have had dreams and I have had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams._

* * *

 _I'm going out of town for a bit._

 _ **Okay. Any particular reason?**_

 _I'm sure he's already talked to you about what happened. About him caving. But that's not the reason. I'm going to LA, I might go see Naomi and Sam._

 _ **That's what he told you? And if you don't want to talk about it – the going away reason that is – then you don't have to. I'm here when you need me. Say hi for me.**_

 _What do you mean is 'is that what he told you'? What else would he tell me?'_

 _ **Oh look. Rounds are coming my way. Talk soon.**_

 _No. Tell me what you meant._

…

 _Grace?_

…

 _Stop ignoring me and tell me what you meant._

…

 _Grace!_

* * *

Yang came into her room and closed the door behind her, adjusting the blinds so you couldn't see into the room as easily.

'Doctor Yang?' Grace asked, looking up from Sudoku book. 'Can I help you with something?'

'I just need to hide here for five minutes.'

Grace went to ask why but then Yang's mother and Preston's mother walked past. 'Anything to do with the two mothers that just walked past?'

'Yes.'

'Did they find out about the wedding?'

'Yes!' Yang burst out angrily. 'And now they're everywhere! They followed us to work so they can have me make decisions when I have a free minute! And they're making me have bridesmaids, and flowers, and ribbons, and dresses and – and – and everything…wedding-y!' She finished in a rush, breathing heavily.

'Feel better?'

Yang nodded. 'Yes, a bit.'

Grace chuckled. 'I know you aren't the wedding-y type so, here's one piece of advice for you. Do you love Preston?'

'Of course.' Yang said immediately, sounding as though it were the stupidest question around. 'But how is that ad – '

'You love him. At the end of the day, that's all that matters.' Grace continued, cutting off the intern. 'And all this stress, all the domineering mother stuff, just try to let it wash over you, because the important part? Is the part where you say I do.' She smiled when she saw that Yang was really listening to her. 'So let them do all the planning, it means you don't have to. All you have to do is turn up and say your vows. Now go away and leave the door open on the way out.'

* * *

 _ **They got divorced.**_

 _Who did?_

 _ **Naomi and Sam. They're divorced. And neither of them will give me details. Do you know anything?**_

 _I knew they were divorced but no more than that. Naomi and I aren't that close, we only exchange emails once a month or so._

 _ **Damn. I was hoping you could tell me. Sam used fart logic on me.**_

 _Pardon?_

 _ **You smelt it you dealt it. He said that when I asked if he cheated.**_

 _Huh. Suppose that works._

 _ **What did you mean earlier about Mark?**_

 _Ooh, lunch time! And I've got green jello, my favourite!_

 _ **No, Grace, answer me!**_

…

 _ **Grace!**_

…

* * *

'I had an actual conversation with Derek earlier.' Mark told her as he put a hot chocolate in front of her with a muffin. 'It was short but there no cross words or dirty looks, just a conversation.'

Grace smiled and started to eat her muffin, picking the blueberries out first. 'Good, I'm glad.'

'Do you think…if Addie stayed away, if she wasn't here as an obvious reminder, that maybe we'd be okay again?'

'I don't know.' Grace thought for a moment. 'Perhaps. You were friends long before Addie came in the picture. Maybe if she isn't in the picture anymore, it would be a real possibility.'

Mark's eyes looked brighter at that assessment.

* * *

 _ **My AFC is only 2.**_

 _I'm sorry._

 _ **I have the perfect guy, but focus on my career, then I have another guy and a baby but I don't keep it because he isn't the perfect guy. Then I don't have any guy and want a baby but can't.**_

 _Call me anytime you want Addie. I'm here whenever you want._

 _ **I know.**_

* * *

'Good morning, Grey.' Grace said as the intern walked into her room.

'Good morning Doctor Mason. Doctor Bailey just wanted me to find out when you last had scans done.'

Grace gestured at the chart hanging on her bed. 'Last week. There's been growth but nothing too dramatic. I hear Susan is back in, everything alright?'

'Oh, yeah, it looks like an infection.' Grey smiled slightly. 'So she should be okay after some antibiotics. Can I ask…why put the condition on you having the operation? Wouldn't it be better to get it done and then manhandle them into being friends again? I'm pretty sure you could do that.'

'Probably,' Grace said with a laugh. 'But they'll be stronger if they do it themselves. Besides, they're grown ass men, I shouldn't have to tell them they're being idiots.'

* * *

 _ **A quack stuck needles in me and made me cry.**_

 _I'm going to need a translation or expansion of that comment._

 _ **The alternative medicine guy here. He convinced me to lie down on the bed and he said I was holding onto tension. Then he stuck a dozen acupuncture needles in my face and disappeared. Then after a couple of minutes I found myself crying.**_

 _You okay now?_

 _ **Maybe.**_

 _That's better than no._

* * *

Grace ate her salad, waiting for Miranda to spill instead of angrily mutilating her own lunch.

'O'Malley and Burke were both using my clinic to hide. Both of them started the conversation with and I quote – you've been married a long time, right? Putting their problems on me, should just talk to their damn wife and girlfriend. Let me do my damn job.'

'You should set them on each other.'

'I did. Then I kicked them out of my clinic.'

Grace nodded and stabbed a piece of cucumber. 'Good. They don't come to me as often since I yelled at the four of them up near the Chief's office.'

Miranda snorted. 'The entire hospital heard that one first hand. All their non-emergency stuff got mysteriously delayed for days after that.'

'It did?' Grace looked up in surprise. 'I didn't know that.'

'The entire hospital loves you. It's no surprise that you'd be a shoo in for Chief if it weren't for that pesky tumour you won't get rid of.'

'Miranda…' Grace said with a sigh.

Miranda raised her hand slightly. 'I'm not starting. Just saying. I get why you're hesitating. I just wish those two morons would get their heads out their asses.'

Grace chuckled. 'You and me both.'

* * *

 _ **The quack just kissed me.**_

 _Was he any good._

 _ **Damn. Just…damn.**_

 _Colour me jealous._

 _ **It was just…damn.**_

 _Don't rub it in. It's not like I can go off somewhere and just get laid._

 _ **You could.**_

 _Yeah if I wanted be my own vibrator. Besides even if I were healthy I couldn't._

 _ **You should tell him.**_

 _No._

 _ **Yes.**_

 _Got to go. Nature calls._

* * *

Grace was down near the surgical floor when she met up with Derek. 'Hey there. You look a little beat, long day?'

'Long week, a long few weeks actually.' Derek said with a tired smile as they continued down the corridor. 'What?'

Looking where Derek was, Grace saw Richard and Miranda peel off from Grey as she headed towards her father. 'Susan. She was rushed into surgery.'

They walked ahead and watched as Meredith began speaking to Thatcher. You could see the moment when the information clicked in his brain.

Then Thatcher slapped Meredith and Grace quickly wheeled ahead, surprised and disappointed when Derek wasn't right behind her.

'I trusted you,' Thatcher said angrily as Meredith staggered back and then turned around to walk past Grace.

Grace moved closer to Thatcher. Holding back the first words the danced on her tongue. She wasn't pleased with his actions but he had just lost his wife. 'In an hour or two, someone will take you to see Susan.'

Thatcher didn't respond, but she hadn't really expected him to.

'If you need to use a phone somewhere private, just ask, there are rooms that can be made available.'

Grace turned and quickly wheeled away before she said something she'd regret. Or worse, something she wouldn't.


	48. Testing To Have It All

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. This chapter is for **animexchick** , a review from her made me realise I'd left a plot hole, this includes the fix, so thank you._

* * *

 _Sometimes we're tested. Not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths._

 _I am responsible for what I say, not what you understand._

* * *

Grace hated the fact that she couldn't go check on the interns after their test, but she had an awful headache today. She'd had to get extra meds and the lights were off and the blinds angled to keep the light out as much as possible.

'Gracie?'

She weakly waggled her hand towards the door when Mark spoke.

The door slipped shut again and a moment later the bed dipped slightly behind her and a hand smoothed over her hair. 'Hey there, Gracie. How you doing?' Mark kept his voice low.

'M'kay.' She replied quietly. 'Jus' a headache…not so bad.'

'Don't tell lies, it's naughty.' Mark said as his hand kept moving across her hair. The action more soothing than she'd ever admit.

Grace smiled slightly. 'Says you.'

Mark chuckled softly and then sighed. 'I've told the nurses to keep me updated, but I'm going to be busy since the interns are busy most of the day.'

'Yeah…keep me updated…too?'

'Sure.' Mark leaned over her and kissed her cheek. 'I'll be back as soon as I can.'

Grace nodded and let herself drift off to sleep again.

* * *

The next time someone came in, it was dark outside her window.

'Gracie, you awake?'

Grace blinked and saw Mark at the door with others behind him. 'Markie…'

Mark walked over and knelt beside her bed, taking her hand in his. 'We thought we'd stop by before we went to Joe's for Burke's bachelor party.'

Now they had moved into the room a little, Grace could see Preston and Derek more clearly.

'I also wanted to know if you still wanted to go to the wedding tomorrow.' Preston said quietly.

Grace smiled. 'Wouldn't miss it,' she replied. 'Though, I'm not sure I'll be dancing.'

Preston chuckled. 'Well there goes that plan. You were the only one I wanted to dance with besides Cristina.'

'Stick to your soon-to-be-wife,' Derek said, nudging Preston. 'I was going to switch between her and Meredith.'

'You stick to your almost wife, and you stick to your girlfriend,' Mark told them firmly. 'I'm the only one she's dancing with tomorrow. And you will be dancing.' He said with a soft smile and he brushed her hair back. 'Even if you stand on my toes and I hold you up.'

Grace managed a chuckle. 'You've got yourself a deal, Markie.' She blinked a couple of times. 'You'll have to get Debbie to attach a portable IV thingy.'

'IV thingy?' Mark asked, holding back a laugh. 'I thought you went to Harvard?'

'Shush you…' she swatted his arm.

'Okay,' Mark said with a smile. 'I'll swing by your place and pick out a dress and stuff. Then I'll come back and help you fancy yourself up. Then I'll spring you from the joint.'

Grace nodded slightly, starting to drift off again. 'Good plan.'

'Sleep,' she felt a kiss on her forehead. 'I'll see you in the morning.

* * *

The next day Mark came by in the morning with a covered dress over one arm and a bag on the other.

'Okay, this is your stuff,' he hung the dress up and put the bag on the bed. 'I talked to that red-headed nurse…Olivia, she said she'd come by and help you get ready. I'll be back in time to take you to the church, but right now I've got to go check on my patients, so that I can take you to the church.'

And then he was gone again, without her even saying anything. Grace saw Debbie appear at the door.

'That was what Mark is like when he has three coffees and no breakfast. Could you get someone to throw food at him please?'

'Literally? Because you'll have volunteers coming out your ears then.'

Grace chuckled and went back to her own breakfast. 'As long as food gets in his mouth…'

Debbie chuckled. 'I'll sort him out. I'm not letting you go with him if he's going to pass out from hunger.'

* * *

Grace smiled as Olivia stepped back to admire her work. 'Not too pasty and hasn't-seen-the-sun-for-months?'

'You look stunning.'

She turned and saw Mark smiling at her from the doorway. 'Not so bad yourself.' That was a lie, he looked like sex on a stick. 'Thanks, Olivia, I really appreciate your help.'

'No problem Doctor Mason.' The nurse smiled as she left the room.

Grace carefully got to her feet, which weren't in heels, her legs shaking slightly. 'You always were good at picking out dresses. This didn't come from my closet.'

Mark shrugged. 'I passed the shop on the way to your place.'

The dress was beautiful. It had thick shoulder straps and a bandage style top that was a dark purple. The skirt was swishy and floaty, just how she liked it and had black vines covering the purple fabric. Mark had also brought a black shawl, black shoes and a black handbag from her apartment. As well as a purple jewellery set.

Olivia had curled her hair and pulled it back with the fancy black hairclip Mark had brought and done her face up in a way that didn't show the pain caused shadows on her face.

'Well, I love it, thank you.' Grace felt her knees give way, but before she could fall far, Mark had her in his arms.

'I got you.' He said as he helped her into the wheelchair.

Grace smiled up at him as passed her handbag over. 'You always do.'

* * *

Grace and Mark were near the back of the church, where her wheelchair could fit, so they could hear Cristina's freak out quite well.

They looked at each other and hid a smile. Then, Preston walked down the aisle, towards the back room, as he passed them, Grace caught his eye and knew straight away there would be no wedding today.

A few minutes later Grey came out the back room and walked down the aisle. She reached the front and turned to face the room, after a long moment she finally spoke.

'It's over. You can all go home. It's over. So over.'

Grace saw the look on Derek's face but before she could speak, Mark did.

'She broke up with him.' He murmured in Grace's ear. 'That was her breaking up with him.'

'Yeah, it was,' Grace replied as Grey went back into the back room and everyone started talking.

* * *

Mark and Grace had waited until most of the guests had left before trying to make their way out of the building. Once outside, Mark had tucked a blanket across her legs.

'Well, looks like we're all dressed up with no place to go,' Grace said with a smile as she watched Grey get in her car and quickly leave.

'How about we go to dinner somewhere nice then?' Mark said after a moment.

Grace thought for a moment and then pulled her cell from her bag. She ignored Mark's questions while she exchanged texts.

He stopped though when Derek walked over to them. 'Derek. You alright?'

Derek managed a slight smile. 'Yeah.'

'No you're not.' Grace said with a snort. 'You're joining us for dinner by the way.'

'That should probably be a question.' Derek replied with a chuckle. Grace just looked at him until he nodded. 'I'm joining you for dinner.'

'Yes, you are.' Grace looked past him and saw Addie. 'Addie, you're coming as well.'

Addie looked startled for a moment and then walked over. 'I'm coming where?'

'I don't know,' Mark said with a shrug. 'She just started texting someone.'

Grace got one more text and smiled happily. 'Okay, I got us a table at the needle in forty minutes.'

'How'd you do that?' Addie asked curiously. 'It usually takes a couple of weeks to get a table there.'

'A five years ago the chef's wife was in a car accident, I managed to save her baby's life.' Grace explained. 'And two years ago the manager went into preterm at 28 weeks, I helped then as well. As a result, I can usually get a table if I really want one.'

Mark started laughing. 'Is that how we got one when I visited last year?'

'Yep.' Grace said as she smiled up at him. 'Now, let's get going.'

'Yes, Ma'am!' Mark said with mock salute.

As the four of them started walking towards the car park, Grace was happy to see that Derek didn't look quite as bad as he did before.

* * *

'So, are you going to tell me where you are?' Grace asked later that night after Mark had brought her back to the hosptial and left for the night.

 _'You tell Sloan everything, and he has a big mouth.'_

Grace chuckled. 'Not everything, I can keep a secret.' They both knew what she was talking about.

 _'I never thanked you for that, did I?'_

'You didn't need - '

 _'Yes I did.'_ Burke cut in with a sigh. _'You put yourself in a risky position. Even if you aren't practicing at the moment you still consult on cases, write articles...you still could have your license revoked or...something. I should have thanked you a lot sooner.'_

Grace smiled into the phone. 'You're welcome Preston. Send me an email now and again, yeah?'

 _'I will. Oh, and try to have your head fixed before it fails on you? You have two good hands, you should use them.'_

Putting the phone down as Preston hung up, Grace smiled at his advice, knowing his words would bounce around her brain everytime the topic came now.

But she couldn't, not yet.


	49. A Change Is Gonna Come

_Author Note - To confused Guest, each chapter title is the same as an episode title. If you're lost as to what is going on in canon, I suggest going to the Grey's Anatomy Wiki and looking up the correct episode. Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _The secret of change is to focus, not on fighting the old, but on building the new._

* * *

Grace had three hot drinks and three muffins balanced on her knee as she wheeled across the walkway that overlooked main entrance.

'I wondered if you'd be here.' Richard said as she stopped beside him.

'Well, they aren't made by me, but it's still tradition.' Grace handed a coffee and muffin over to him.

The Chief chuckled. 'That it is. I remember the first day you were here, I was over in my office and saw you stood here. I knew you were an intern, but I wouldn't have guessed it from your face, you looked perfectly calm, excited, but calm. None of the nerves interns usually have.'

Grace smiled and nodded. 'I just wanted to get to work, to start learning, I was confident about what I could do but eager to know more.'

'I think she'll be elsewhere today,' Richard said, gesturing to the last coffee and muffin. 'She's been avoiding me.'

'I know.' Grace ate the last bit of her muffin and put her hot chocolate back on the drink holder. 'I'm going to go find her. I'll see you later.'

* * *

Mark dropped a subway packet on her table before sitting in the chair at her bedside. 'Got an amputee in an hour. Grey's just tidying up the arm. She's really pregnant as well.'

Grace nodded as she unwrapped the sandwich. 'Make sure you have a cot ready, just in case. The stress will have upped the chance of delivery by a whack.'

'Yeah, will do.' Mark took a big bite before speaking again. 'O'Malley decided to come back.'

'I saw him earlier, but I didn't get the chance to talk.' Grace waited, she knew there was something else he really wanted to talk about. He was quiet for a while, both of them just eating.

Mark cleared his throat. 'I tried to make nice with Derek. You know, saying it was Grey's loss, he was better off without her, that kind of thing. He jumped down my throat, said I didn't know her and I didn't get to talk about her.'

Grace gave him a sympathetic smile. 'I'm sorry, Markie. But he is getting better with you. We all had a fun dinner the day off the wedding, despite the messed up history between the four of us.'

'Yeah, I suppose.' Mark was shredding part of his sub. 'You heard from Addie?'

'She's getting settled in LA quite well.' Grace said with a smile, happy for her other friend. 'I think she'll probably text you occasionally once she's settled properly.'

Mark nodded. 'Good, I'm glad she's happy then.' He smiled slightly. 'I think we would have ended badly, if we had made a go of it.'

Grace looked at him in surprise. 'Really?'

'Don't act like you didn't think that already.'

'Okay. You're right, I always thought you and Addie were better off as friends.' Grace smiled at him. 'Maybe you'll be able to do it now that there's some distance between you.'

'Maybe.' Mark agreed easily, before they both went back to quietly eating.

* * *

'You…are kind of awesome.' Grace heard George say up ahead.

'I know.'

Grace went round the corner and saw George stood beside one of the new interns, both watching the babies. 'Hey George, heard you delivered one of these little miracles.

The two of them startled but then George smiled at her.

'Doctor Mason, hi. And yes, I did.' George smiled slightly.

'Doctor?' The unknown intern said with confusion.

'Oh, yeah. Lexi this is Doctor Grace Mason, she's the usual head of neo-natal and all that stuff.' George waved a hand between them. 'Doctor Mason, this is Lexi Grey.'

Grace managed to keep from going wide eyed. 'Ohh, yeah. I heard you had to help stabilise the internal de-cap guy.'

Lexi seemed surprised. 'Oh, yeah. Er…how did you know?'

'Doctor Mason knows everything in this hospital.' George said, sounding very much like he was bragging. 'Despite the fact she's been a patient for months, rather than a doctor. Plus, all the nurses and orderlies, and lab guys, and technicians and…well everyone loves her. Her information network would make the FBI weep with envy.'

'George, stop, I'm blushing.' Grace said pretending to be embarrassed and hide her face.

George just laughed. 'I'm just telling the truth. How you doing today Doctor Mason?'

'I can hold a glass of water without spilling it on myself, so it's a good day today.'

'I'm glad.' George said with a happy smile. 'No more migraines?'

Grace shrugged. 'I had one while you were on holiday, but aside from that, no.'

'What's wrong with you?' Lexi asked before looking uncomfortable. 'If you don't mind me asking?'

'I'll let George fill you in.' Grace said as she began to wheel past them. 'I'm on a Bailey hunt.'

George offered help with that. 'I saw her near x-ray. So she'll be there or in the pit.'

'Thanks, George.' Grace said, waving a hand over her shoulder.

* * *

Later Grace had been wheeling around, unable to sleep, and saw Grey walking off with Derek, rejecting Lexi's attempt to talk.

When little Grey turned to walk away, she saw Grace and came to a stop.

'Doctor Mason.'

'Meredith doesn't have much experience with family.' Grace said after a moment. 'She'll need to adjust to you being here.'

Lexi glanced in the direction her sister had disappeared. 'I suppose.'

Grace nodded. 'Right, now, take me back to my room. My hands seem to be done for the night.'

'Oh, right.' Lexi all but jumped to attention and took up position behind Grace's wheelchair. 'You'll have to tell me where to go, I already got lost twice today. It was so embarrassing.'

'I got lost three times my first day here,' Grace said with a chuckle. 'Give it two weeks and you'll mostly know your way around.'

Lexi chuckled. 'Okay. Thanks.'

Grace could feel Lexi shifting as they moved forward, she knew she wanted to ask something. 'Just spit it out Grey. Despite what you've likely heard, I don't literally bite people.'

'Oh, um…did you really refuse to have life-saving surgery until your two friends make up?'

'Yep. Doctor Shepherd is the only one I'd trust to do it. But he and Doctor Sloan aren't on the best of terms at the moment so I gave them an ultimatum.'

Lexi looked down at her. 'You're not worried they'll pretend to make up.'

'They wouldn't dare,' Grace said with a smirk. 'I'd be able to tell and they know I'd chew them out for it. Plus, I can make the work day hell for them.'

'How?' Lexi asked as they got in the lift.

'Word of advice. Don't piss of the nurses, be nice to them.' Grace gave Lexi a hard look. 'And always remember, they love me.'

Lexi nodded rapidly. 'Will do Doctor Mason.'

'Good, you might survive then.'


	50. Love-Addiction

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. Enjoy the chapter._

* * *

 _We all get addicted to something that takes away the pain._

* * *

'I know I didn't ask before but…' Miranda hesitated as she walked into the room. 'Do you think the Chief was right to not pick me for Chief resident?'

Grace looked up with a spoonful of yoghurt in her mouth. 'Wha' you meem?'

Miranda rolled her eyes. 'In his position, what would you have done?'

'Not picked you.' Grace said after swallowing the yoghurt. 'Being Chief resident is more admin than medicine. You'd lose forty percent of your OR time. So no, if I was Chief, I wouldn't have picked you because you are too good to waste at a desk.'

'That's what he said.' Miranda said as she sat on Grace's bed. 'The other day when he finally had me cornered.'

Grace shrugged. 'It's why I'd only do Chief as a stand in. Too much paperwork, not enough cutting. Plus, it kills whatever little social life you might have now.' She smiled at her friend. 'You'd miss your baby too much. Dammit!' She threw down the small packet of biscuits she'd got to go with her hot chocolate.

'Here, give me that.' Miranda took the packet and opened it for her. As she handed it back, Miranda caught Grace's trembling hand. 'You need to have the surgery.'

'Not until I know he'll be okay.' Grace said quietly. 'They're getting better. I think, maybe a few months.'

'Will you still be here then?' Miranda asked bluntly. ''Cause I've seen your films.'

Grace sighed and shrugged again. 'I'll be here. I won't allow myself not to be.'

Miranda just shook her head and stood up. 'I know you're stubborn, but even you can't keep from dying if your brain gives up.'

'Watch me.' Grace said with a smile, making her friend leave with a chuckle.

* * *

Grace puzzled to find Tyler walking in with her lunch tray balanced on top of a waffle maker. 'Er…you shouldn't have?'

'I got it off Yang.' Tyler said with a chuckle. 'But it won't fit in my locker, I was wondering if I could leave it here until I finish?'

'Sure, sure.' Grace waved a hand towards the set of drawers in the corner of the room. 'Why does Yang have a waffle maker, and why's she giving it away?'

'Wedding present.' Tyler explained. 'She turned up this morning with ton of different things. Doctor Stevens is determined to get the mix master thing.'

Grace snorted and started picking at her food. 'Of course she is. Oh, could you open that window a little, I couldn't do it and it's a little warm today.'

Tyler nodded and opened the window for her. 'Let me know if you need anything else, I'm working here today.'

'A good day today then.' Grace said with a smile as he left.

* * *

'What kind of woman do you think I could marry and be happy with?'

Grace choked on her drink when Mark appeared at her door with this question on his lips. 'What?'

Mark handed her a tissue. 'There's this burns guy. Says he wishes he'd stopped being a bachelor, stopped playing the field so much. I just wondered what kind of person you think I'd be happy with. Permanently. You know me best.'

'Well, uh…' Grace floundered for a moment. 'I suppose, you'd need someone with a strong personality, that wouldn't that wouldn't let you be an ass all the time. But someone who realises that being an ass is part of your personality and knows where the line is. Someone who can go tit for tat with you easily and knows how to get you to be more than you show most people. Someone…determined and intelligent, with a sense of humour to match yours.'

Mark considered that for a moment and then grabbed his pager as it beeped. 'Got to go. So basically when I want to settle down, I need to find someone like you,' he said with a grin as he left.

'Yeah,' Grace said as her heart ached. 'Someone like me.'

* * *

Grace was just laid on her bed, watching the rain fall down the window when Tyler turned up again, in his street clothes this time.

'Doctor Mason?' He asked when he walked around the bed to grab his waffle maker. 'You alright?'

'Do you think…' Grace asked slowly. 'That maybe, I should stop loving him?'

Tyler was clearly surprised. 'Doctor Sloan? What makes you ask?'

'I don't think he'll ever love me the way I want…the way I need him to.'

'My brother loved a girl from the time he was fourteen.' Tyler said as he shifted the box in his arms. 'He never once went on a date with anyone. They were really good friends, not as close as you and Doctor Sloan but still close. And he was happy just being the friend she wanted.

'When they were twenty two, in college, they were involved in a car accident. She was hurt worse than him, so he stayed at her bedside. And one day he was worried she would die without him ever telling her the truth, so he told her, even though she was unconscious. When she woke up later, she told him she heard him and she had thought he didn't see her that way, which is why she dated other people. They've been married fifteen years and they've got four kids.'

Grace smiled at the romantic story. 'That's beautiful. But I don't see…'

Tyler interrupted her. 'Can you picture yourself with anyone else? Can you even think up a list of personality traits that doesn't match Doctor Sloan?'

'No,' Grace said after a moment.

'Neither could my brother.' Tyler said with a shrug. 'He told me once, that even if he'd been left alone, even if she'd married someone else, he would have been happy just being part of her life. Even without her loving him back.' He smiled at her and left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.


	51. Let The Truth Sting

_Author Note - Thanks for all the follows/faves and reviews. Enjoy._

* * *

 _The truth will always be the truth, even when no one believes it._

* * *

'Karev!' Grace yelled as the resident passed.

Karev reversed, along with the older guy he had with him. 'You yelled Doctor Mason?'

'Yeah, I wondered if you knew what eventually happened with the little boy that was doped on meth?'

'Oh, Brian.' Karev came into her room a bit more. 'Yeah, I rang the hospital that was nearer his grandmother's house, they said there didn't seem to be any lingering effects from the stroke and the effects from the meth seemed to be fading as well.'

Grace smiled happily. 'Oh good, because for once I didn't know, and no one else did either. This a new intern?'

Karev looked surprised. 'You're the first person to not assume he's an attending.'

'Really?' Grace looked the guy over critically. 'Why? I can tell just by looking at him he doesn't know much.'

'I'm Norman – '

Grace shook her head. 'Meh, don't care. Hey, Karev if you get the chance, tell Torres I haven't seen her in a while and to drop by for lunch or something.'

'Sure.' Karev went back to the door. 'Come on Norman, see you later Doc.'

* * *

'Er…Doctor Mason?'

Grace looked up from her book and smiled at George. 'Hey there, how are you George?'

'Oh, I'm good.' George came in to stand next to her. 'And you?'

'Not too bad,' Grace showed him that her hands, and the rest of her, weren't trembling as much as they had been. 'Derek heard of an anti-seizure medication that had been shown to help with tremors caused by other factors and so far, it seems to be helping.'

George smiled widely. 'That's great! I'm happy for you, I know you've missed been able to do your sewing, it looks like you might manage doing it now.'

Grace smiled back at him. 'Yes, I can. So, were you wanting something?'

'Yes, er…earlier, Doctor Sloan and the Chief…well they seem to be a bit hung up on…age today. I thought you might want to know.' George got a kind of mischievous look on his face. 'I remember you mentioning you found it hilarious when people got like that, I figured, you'd like to maybe tease them about it.'

'Thank you George,' Grace said with a grin. 'You are correct, I can have a lot of fun with that information.

George chuckled. 'Alright, I'll see you later then?'

'Okay, thanks George.'

* * *

Debbie came in with a lunch tray for Grace. 'Here you go, Doctor Mason.' She set the tray down and plumped Grace's pillows for her. 'And one of the nurses said that Doctor Torres said she couldn't make it to lunch today.'

Grace frowned slightly. 'Really? Did she get a surgery or something?'

'Apparently, she's been in the resident's lounge all day, doing paperwork.'

'Huh.' Grace picked up her spoon. 'That's…odd. Anything else about that?'

Debbie shook her head. 'Just that there seems to be tension between her, Doctor O'Malley and Doctor Stevens.'

'Okay,' Grace said, before remember something. 'Oh, Debbie, could you do something for me?'

'Sure, what it is?'

Grace grinned happily. 'Could you ask the others to help any books relating to old age, or any really out of date books, find their way into the hands of Mark and the Chief?'

Debbie smothered a smile. 'Anything to do with them both being heard saying that age is just a number?'

'Perhaps.'

'I'll see what I can do.'

* * *

Grace was just drifting off when her door opened.

'Hey there,' Mark said as he walked in and nudged her over so he could lay beside her.

'Hey,' Grace wrapped an arm across his waist. 'Haven't seen you today.'

Mark nodded. 'Sorry about that, had a tricky surgery I had to read up on. Cutting edge.'

'Heard about that.'

'Thought you might have.' Mark said sounding amused. 'What with all those irrelevant books Richard and I kept coming across.'

Grace just started giggling. 'Don't know what you're talking about.'

'Sure you don't.'

'It went well though?'

Mark nodded and pulled her closer. 'Yeah, Connie's got a really good chance to talk properly again. Hopefully the worst problem will be a lisp, but she'll be able to talk, and that's what's important.' They were quiet for a while before Grace spoke again.

'Not bad for a couple of geriatrics.'

'Hey!'


	52. The Heart Of The Matter

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. This is the first of two chapters I'm adding today, purely because it's my birthday._

* * *

 _Forgiving someone is easy, but being able to trust them again is a totally different story._

* * *

'So if a couple of your underlings had told the wrong patient, one here for a simple mole removal, that they were going to die, how mad would you be?'

Grace blinked at Mark a few times. 'You're joking, right?'

In the doorway, Mark shook his head. 'They mixed up 2113 and 2112.'

'My underlings would be stuck watching the goriest videos possible for a month and they'd have no surgeries, or even assisting with births, they just be on charts and whatever foul chores the nurses could send their way.'

'That's what I thought.' Mark said before he disappeared again.

* * *

Knocking on the doorway to Camille's room, Grace waited for her to turn before wheeling further in.

'Hey Camille, how you holding up?'

'That depends,' Camille said with a sad smile. 'Are you here to try and persuade me to take the treatment plan Uncle Richard has made?'

Grace shook her head and laughed as she stopped at Camille's bedside. 'No. Your Aunt Adele did try to get me on side though.'

Camille brightened slightly. 'What did you say to her?'

'That I would be the worst kind of hypocrite if I tried to persuade you to have the treatments. Considering I'm refusing to have a lifesaving surgery until my friends stop fighting.'

'I heard about that, but I didn't know whether to believe it.' Camille managed a short laugh. 'It's true?'

'Yeah,' Grace said with a smile. 'It was when your Uncle Richard first started making noises about retiring. The four attendings in the running were all my friends and they were turning the surgical wing into a three ring circus. Always arguing and trying to show each other up.

'It had been weeks since any of them had even asked me how I was doing, and I just lost my temper. I gave them all a piece of my mind and told Mark and Derek that until they made up, I wouldn't have the surgery.'

Camille was quiet for a long moment. 'Wow. That can't be the only reason you've put it off though, right?'

Grace shook her head. 'No. I've been in love with Mark for years. However small the odds of me dying during the surgery are, I don't want to take that risk when I might be leaving him alone. I want to go into that surgery knowing he has the man who might as well be his brother to support him if I die.'

'I get that.'

'I thought you might.' Grace took Camille's hand. 'So I'm going to say this to you. Don't worry about your family. We both know that losing you, it's going to devastate them. But they won't be alone, they'll have each other,' she paused and took a breath, both of them near tears. 'So, do what will make your…your last days happiest. Go home, be with your friends and family, don't waste away in this hospital, wishing for your own bed.'

Camille sat up and hugged her. 'Thank you Doctor Grace.'

Grace hugged her back, knowing that the tears falling down the girl's face were matched by her own. 'You're welcome kiddo.'


	53. Haunt You Every Day

_Author Note - This is the second of two chapters I'm uploading today, purely because it's my birthday. Enjoy._

* * *

 _The past will often attack the present with the pain of your memories._

* * *

'What are you doing?'

Grace didn't look up from her task as she answered Mark. 'Doing the Macarena.'

Mark came over and tilted the half carved pumpkin. 'Aren't these things supposed to be scary?' All around the pumpkin Grace had managed to carve stars all of them quite small.

'Meh,' Grace shrugged and took back the pumpkin. Digging into it with a ten blade once again. 'I figured this'll look cool at night.'

'But you can't have candles in the hospital,' Mark said as he sat in the chair and propped his feet on her bed. 'Which is a shame, because I think it'll look great as well.'

Grace grinned at him and pointed at the bag he was half sat on. 'Look in there.'

Mark pulled the bag free and look inside. 'Ah, modern conveniences.' He took out the battery operated string of LED lights. 'Good idea.'

'Yeah, Debbie mentioned she was going to pick out a couple of pumpkins with her granddaughter, so I asked her to get me this stuff.'

'And the ten blade?'

'One of the nurses, brought me it.' Grace popped out another bit of pumpkin. 'Do me a favour and hang the spiders on the window?'

She saw Mark roll his eyes, but he did as she asked, using the tape from the bag to hold string of spiders in place. Then he pulled out the battery operated pumpkin lights and stuck them along the side of the bathroom door.

'Thanks, Markie.'

'Anything for you, Gracie.' Mark paused and turned to look at her. 'Do you know if the rumour that Grey brought her Mom's ashes to work in baggie is true?'

Grace made another cut on her pumpkin. 'Oh yeah. I got that one five minutes after she arrived.'

Mark scrunched his nose up a bit. 'That's…just…'

'Yeah.'

Grace briefly considered giving Mark the heads up on what the nurses had started, but found it too hilarious and decided to let him walk into it blind.

* * *

'I just gave Mark a heart attack.' Derek said as he walked into her room. 'Nice pumpkin.'

Grace smiled at him happily, her finished pumpkin was on the drawers under the outside window. 'Thanks. And what did you do to him?'

'There was a kid looking for him. So I got the kid to pop out from behind me and say 'Daddy'.' Derek was chuckling now. 'It's was brilliant, and it only cost me twenty bucks.'

'You should have taken pictures.' Grace said as she joined the laughter. 'You would have been able to retire with the money you would have made.'

Derek nodded. 'Yeah, I should have. So, how are you doing today? Obviously not too bad if you're the one that carved the pumpkin.'

Grace smiled widely and held her hands out. There was only the faintest tremor visible. 'And I even managed to walk around this a floor a bit, using a walker, but still, my legs were steady enough to hold me for a while.'

'That's great.' Derek looked over her chart. 'And you haven't had a migraine for a week now. So hopefully the tumour hasn't grown anymore. We'll get some more pictures though, just to check.'

'Okay,' Grace agreed easily. 'Now go away again, I was at a really good part. She picked up the copy of Dracula she'd had Mark collect from her apartment and proceeded to ignore Derek as he left room with a smile on his face.

She really hoped this prank of his was a good sign.

* * *

'He took a saw, a chainsaw, to his own foot?' Grace had paused with a fork full of food halfway to her mouth.

'Yeah, some guy in the ER came in with it – '

Grace smiled happily and ate the food. 'Chainsaw pumpkin carving. Miranda loves the carnage that comes in because of all the morons.'

Mark chuckled. 'Yeah, anyway he took that chainsaw and he was sat in the clinic and apparently he just started going at it!'

'I really wished I'd seen that. It must have been gruesome.' Grace chuckled and went back to her food.

* * *

'Grey!'

Grey, the elder, stopped and looked into the room. 'Yes, Doctor Mason?'

Grace however looked at the kid beside. 'So you're the kid that's trick or treating for ears?'

'Yes, Ma'am. You're Doctor Mason?' He waited for Grace's nod. 'My Mom's mentioned you, says you're the nicest person in the entire hospital.'

'That seems to be the most popular opinion.' Grace said with a chuckle. 'Have you got everyone you need for the op?'

Grey nodded. 'Yeah, we just got the last person we need.'

Grace picked a slip of paper off her table and held it out to Grey. 'Here, happy Halloween.'

'What is it?' Grey asked as she took it only to gape as she looked at it. 'Is this…?'

'A cheque. Covering the cost, in the form of a donation to the surgical wing.' Grace said before smiling at the boy. 'This way, the hospital isn't out of pocket, but you still get your pro bono op because they aren't getting paid individually.'

The boy grinned widely. 'Thanks Doctor Mason!'


	54. Kung Fu Fighting

_Author Note - Thanks for all the follow/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _You can do anything but not everything._

* * *

Grace gave into her curiosity and wheeled her way down to the ER. Usually she kept out of the way but this was too good to miss.

'I see you there Gracie. That chair's got a squeak.'

'Busted.' Grace wheeled into the ER properly and over to where Mark was stitching up a woman's head. 'I got curious.'

Mark chuckled. 'You and that information network of yours. You make the FBI weep with envy.'

'You've said that before.' Grace rolled her eyes and looked curiously at O'Malley.

'And I'll probably say it again.'

The guy to her right suddenly butted in. 'Do you usually let random patients observe things? Do you mind moving away lady?'

Mark paused in his stitching. 'This is _Doctor_ Mason. She is the single most respected person in this hospital. If you aren't nice to her, I'd make sure to visit a different hospital because you'd never be welcome here again.' Then he smirked. 'And considering I'm stitching your wife's face up, I'd be a little nicer to my best friend.'

There was a long moment of quiet before the guy looked at her.

'Sorry. Long day.'

Grace shrugged and propped her chin on her elbow. 'You playing proxy O'Malley?'

O'Malley looked surprised. 'You know what this is about?'

'Yeah. This competition has been anticipated for months.' Grace looked at the guy who was obviously the judge. 'Was the upturn in revenue worth it?'

'I'm trying to decide,' the man said with a long sigh.

Grace looked at the wanna-be bride. 'It's not worth it you know.'

The woman looked offended. 'It definitely is. This is for my dream wedding! I will – '

'Moron. It's not about the wedding, it's about getting married, it's the moment you get to say I do to the man you love more than anything.' Grace shook her head and reversed a bit. 'The wedding isn't important.'

* * *

'Doctor Mason.'

Grace stopped in the hallway and looked back. 'Doctor Hahn, nice to see you. Settling in alright?'

'Just Erica is fine, and yes, I am actually.' Erica said with a smile as she stopped beside Grace. 'Though I could do without the testosterone being so thick in the air.'

'What?' Grace asked in a confusion. 'Testosterone?'

Erica waved a hand. 'Oh, the Chief is apparently having a 'gentlemen's evening' to which only the male attendings are invited. And not only that but he's checking up on me. And had the nerve to suggest that I should have run my awake CABG past him before presenting it to the patient. It's a complete boys club here, how do you put up with it?'

Grace felt her good humour slowly drain away the more Doctor Hahn spoke, which the other doctor seemed to eventually notice.

'Did I say something wrong?' Doctor Hahn asked with a slight laugh.

'Yeah, actually.' Grace said in a cold one, absently noting that nearby staff were listening in. 'First, the Chief, is not running a boys club. The man is in the middle of a divorce. He wants to spend an evening with his male _friends_ , who just happen to be Mark and Derek. I'm not done.' She held up a hand to stop Hahn interrupting.

'Second, I know for a fact that the Chief, always touches base with new attendings, to see how they're settling in, not just the women. It is a way to ensure they know he is available to help, if they need it. A way to let them know that his staff can approach him with any problems.

Grace was well into her stride now and quite a few people were blatantly watching them. 'Third, any awake surgery, has increased risks, not to mention the potential for emotional stress on the patient. An awake CABG, has the potential to be highly traumatic to a patient, the Chief should have been told beforehand so that psych could be there to talk the patient through things.

'And lastly, do not for one moment think that just because I have a vagina, I will automatically be on your side.' Grace was all but sneering at Hahn. 'I have worked here for more than a decade, the Chief is like family to me. Not to mention, Mark has been my best friend since I was eighteen. I will put up with a lot of crap from them, not that I have to, but I will not put up with any crap from you.'

After a moment a silence Hahn cleared her throat uncomfortably. 'I apologise. For making assumptions.' She glanced at their audience. 'Er…I'll be sure to apologise to the Chief as well.'

Grace just rolled her eyes and turned her chair round, not the least bit interested in anything the woman had to say.

* * *

'Have you ever been one of those girls who pictures her perfect wedding?'

Grace opened her tired eyes as Mark nudged her over to lay beside her. 'What?'

Mark pulled her close again. 'I've been thinking and I don't think it's ever come up, so I was wondering if you were.'

'…Yeah, I have a few times. It changes, as you get older.' Grace smiled slightly. 'When you're little, it's the dress from your favourite movie and the guy always looks like your favourite prince. As a teen…I suppose it's whoever your crush of the moment is and the dress is starting to be more you.'

'And now,' Mark asked as ran a hand down her hair. 'What do you picture now?'

Grace felt her heart stutter as Mark asked her that. 'I picture the perfect guy, and our closest friends and my dress is floaty and lacey and my hair is mostly loose. There's nothing fancy, or over the top, because it's not about the wedding, it's about the person opposite me saying I do.'

Mark chuckled. 'That's sounds great. I hope you get your guy someday Gracie, though I personally think no man will ever be good enough. You're too special for just anyone to have.'

'Thanks Markie.' Grace kept her tone light, hoping he would pass off her thick voice as tiredness.

As she drifted off to sleep Grace couldn't help but picture her perfect wedding, with the perfect man stood in front of her.


	55. Physical Attraction - Chemical Reaction

_Author Note - Thanks for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Chemistry is you touching my mind and it setting my body on fire._

* * *

Callie came into her room with a wide smile and a McDonalds bag in one hand. 'Morning!'

'Morning.' Grace said with a matching smile. 'You seem…remarkable cheerful this morning.'

'I am.' Callie said as she handed over the bag. 'Hot chocolate and your favourite double sausage and egg McMuffin. I woke up this morning and I felt good, I have back to back surgeries, I am in a good mood and a plan on staying that way.'

Grace laughed. 'Good for you, and thank you for breakfast.' She started unwrapping her McMuffin. 'Did you – ' she stopped and smiled again as Callie tossed a couple of packets of barbeque sauce at her. 'Thanks.'

'Weirdo, putting barbeque sauce on that.' Callie rolled her eyes. 'Okay, I will see you later!'

* * *

'So, what do you think of Hahn?' Mark asked as he walked in a dropped a bag of books on her bed. He'd taken the ones she was bored with back to her apartment and exchanged them for others.

Grace scoffed slightly. 'Not much. She's hung up on gender, seems to think she has to prove she belongs in surgery. Gets on my nerves really.' She looked up at Mark with a scowl. 'I mean really, like you have to be brash and arrogant to fit in? Please! Me and Addie have no problem looking good and being brilliant at our jobs. It's women like Hahn that set us back, not women like Stevens.'

Mark was obviously fighting laughter. 'So, you wouldn't be too impressed if I said I was thinking of asking her out?'

'Ha!' Grace burst out and shook her head. 'Oh, Markie, you deserve so much better. I know you'll do what you want anyway, but she is so not good for you.'

'Fair enough.' Mark kissed her forehead. 'Enjoy the books, I'll stop by for lunch later.'

Grace nodded. 'Sure, see you later.'

* * *

Richard leaned into her doorway. 'Grace, is something going on with Bailey and Torres?'

Grace knew immediately what he meant. She knew from both Miranda and Callie that they were sharing the workload of Chief Resident, she also knew that Miranda was doing the lion's share of the work.

'I'm not sure, why?'

'Oh, nothing.' The Chief shook his head. 'Just…never mind. I'll see you later.'

'Okay.'

Grace flipped the page of her book, she knew he'd eventually put all the pieces together, there was no need to clue him in early.

* * *

'I think I'm in a relationship with the Chief.'

Grace choked on her hot chocolate as she tried not to laugh. 'Oh yeah, Mark thinks so as well,' she replied as she stopped coughing and wiped herself up.

Derek rolled his eyes. 'Last night he walked into the trailer, while Meredith and I were naked in bed.'

'Oh.' Grace fought back more laughter. 'That's uh…that's something.' She snorted but managed to keep a mostly straight face.

'Can you break up with him for me?'

Grace lost control then and just laughed and laughed. Eventually Derek just left, her laughter following him down the hall.

* * *

Grace looked up as Miranda stopped in the doorway, changed and ready to go home. 'Finally noticed did he?' There was a noticeable change in Miranda's expression, a light in her eyes.

'Yes he did,' Miranda said with a slight smile. 'You told me he'd eventually figure out what was going on.'

'Sometimes men have to be smacked in the face a few times before they realise the point that's being made.'

Miranda chuckled. 'True enough. I'll see you tomorrow?'

Grace nodded. 'I'll be here. Say hi to your guys for me.'


	56. Crash Into Me

_Author Note - Sorry for no update yesterday. My son's dance school did their end of year show and I was busy all day. Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. Enjoy._

* * *

 _Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional._

 _I was sleeping because dreams are better than reality._

* * *

'Doctor Mason, can I speak with you?'

Grace looked at Hahn for a moment before nodding. 'Sure, come in.'

Hahn walked further into the room. 'I have a problem, and something Doctor Sloan said, made me think you might be able to help me with it.'

'What kind of problem?' Grace asked as she set down her sewing, she was making a little soft toy for her godson.

'Well, any of my paperwork that's not for emergencies either takes forever to get back or I have to actually hunt it down, same for my lab work. The quality of the food I get at the cafeteria isn't as good as everyone else's and I'm the last person to get any kind of notification.'

Grace raised an eyebrow at the heart surgeon and looked through the observation window and saw Debbie smiling, the head nurse nodded when Grace caught her eye.

'You pissed off the nurses.'

Hahn nodded. 'I got that, when I mentioned it to Sloan he chuckled and said something about upsetting Nature. Then he said I should talk to you.'

Grace smiled slightly. 'Yeah, Miranda isn't the only one with a nickname here. I get called Nature, as in don't piss off Mother Nature.'

'So you're the one that got the nurses to act like this?' Hahn asked as she crossed her arms.

'On the contrary, I didn't ask or imply for them to do anything.' Grace shrugged and chuckled. 'However, you'll find that every single nurse, orderly and lab tech has a lot of respect for me. Comes from the fact that I know all of them by name, that I thank them for everything they do and when I was still working I made sure to do things that would make their work easier.'

Hahn got a look of realisation on her face. 'So, because I pissed you off, they've got your back.'

Grace nodded. 'Though it's more because you made assumptions about me, than because you pissed me off. I'm surprised you haven't come to me sooner about this.'

'Well I only mentioned it to Sloan a couple of days ago, after I realised that everyone else got results a lot quicker than me.'

'Fair enough.' Grace looked at Debbie and gestured for her to come in.

Debbie smiled widely at Grace, looking a little smug. 'Something I can help you with Doctor Mason.'

'Debbie, can you please call everyone off?' Grace was rather touched by the staff's support. 'I appreciate the gesture, but it's not needed.'

The head nurse glanced at Hahn. 'Fair enough. I'll spread the word.'

'Thanks, Debbie.' Grace smiled and the nurse left the room. 'You should have no bother now, but word for the wise, remembering to say please and thank you will go a long way in this hospital.'

'The rumour about you is true, isn't it?'

Grace chuckled and picked up her sewing. 'You'll have to be more specific. I know there's a few rumours going around about me.'

'A couple of attendings from other areas said that if you were healthy, you would have been the only person considered when the Chief was thinking about retiring. And it's because you basically have the entire hospital in your hands, not just the surgical wing either.'

'Ah yes, that one.' Grace smiled as began sewing again. 'Yeah, probably. But I think Richard is sticking around for a while yet.'

Hahn chuckled. 'Alright then. And thank you, for helping me. Though I get the impression, it's less me and more the hospital you're helping.'

Grace just kept smiling and said nothing.

* * *

Grace was walking down the corridor with Debbie when they heard a loud crash. After a second of looking at each they both went to the nearest window, which looked down towards the pit entrance.

'Oh my god…' Grace said as they took in the scene below them. One of the buses looked to have smashed into the side of another. 'Get down to the board and start bumping all non-emergencies. And page the Chief.'

Debbie was moving before Grace had finished speaking, leaving her to look down with other people that had congregated at the windows.

* * *

'Tucker?' Grace rolled and came to a stop behind her friend.

Tucker turned and smiled before leaning down to hug her. 'Grace, good to see you. How are you doing?'

'Not too bad at the moment,' Grace replied with a shrug. 'Though things are kinda hectic at the moment. You here to see Miranda?'

'Yeah, we were supposed to be having lunch.' Tucker had an edge to his voice that Grace politely ignored.

'Two buses crashed in the emergency bay earlier, right now she's stitching up the insides of a paramedic that happens to be a white supremacist.' She chuckled at Tucker's expression. 'Yeah, I'm not lying.'

Tucker sighed and ran a hand over his face. 'Great.' He seemed to see something on her face. 'Don't say it, I already know everything you want to say. Hell, I've probably heard it from you before.'

Grace smiled sadly. 'I know, just…you know where to find me, yeah?' As Tucker nodded she turned and headed back towards the lifts intending on going back to her room.

* * *

Grace was filling in a Sudoku when Mark came by, looking up she saw Callie and Hahn out in the corridor waiting. 'Going for a drink?'

'Yeah, rough day.'

'I heard.' She smiled as he came closer and dropped a kiss on her head. 'You know what you should do?'

'Get drunk?'

Grace chuckled. 'Before that. Take a detour by my department, take in the sight of the lives that _began_ today.'

Mark smiled at her. 'That's your answer for everything.'

'Just about, but that's because it works, especially on days like today.'

'Alright, one stop by the kiddie pool, doctor's orders.' Mark headed towards the door. 'I'll see you in the morning, with breakfast.'


	57. Lay Your Hands On Me

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. Enjoy._

* * *

 _Faith is seeing light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness._

* * *

'I'm pretty sure Erica and Callie were laughing at me when they got off the elevator this morning.'

Grace rolled her eyes as her friend put down a hot chocolate and large container of fruit salad. 'They probably were, you are very funny looking after all.'

'Hey!' Mark gave her a mock glare as he handed her a fork. 'The three of us had a lot of fun last night. I think Erica is totally into me.'

'Uh huh,' Grace said past a piece of strawberry. 'I believe you.'

Mark stabbed some kiwi and rolled his eyes. 'No faith, even from my best friend.' He ate the kiwi before speaking again. 'Plus Derek woke me up early this morning and took me into the back of beyond. Showed this field in the middle of nowhere and asked how I liked the view from his new house.'

Grace raised an eyebrow. 'He has a plot of land? Where?'

'Somewhere outside the city, it actually looks over the city.' Mark paused with a blueberry in his mouth. 'Hang on.' He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. 'This is the company he bought it from, this is his plot…uh…here.'

'Huh. Small world. I bought that plot, there.' She tapped the next plot over that was still some distance from Derek's.

Mark frowned at the paper. 'Why?'

Grace shrugged. 'It was a good investment. And I've always wanted to design my own house. I just need to find a good architect that'll work with me.'

'Ask Derek, he's got plans already drawn up.' 'Mark tucked the paper away and started eating again. 'What kind of house would you build?'

'Big open plan living area, so I can have friends over and cook for them while still having fun with them, my own library room, and massive master en-suite with a huge tub and a few extra bedrooms just in case.'

Mark smiled. 'Sounds great. Count me in for the first meal you cook then.'

* * *

Grace wheeled down the hall and almost skidded to a stop beside Rosemary's babies. 'What happened?!' Before anyone could reply George came running from the opposite direction asking the same thing.

'He got crushed under a bookshelf,' Stevens said, looking between the two of them.

Yang jumped in next. 'Multiple rib fractures.'

'Might have dropped a lung.' Karev said without looking away from the procedure room.

'They're worried there may be damage to the heart.' Grey said with a brief glance at her.

Just then the Chief came out of the room and started handing out orders each of them disappearing as he did. 'Okay, Yang and Stevens, get him to radiology for a head, chest and abdominal CT. O'Malley, tell the labs to move fast. Karev, clear out we'll keep you posted.' He paused and lowered his tone as he spoke to Grey. 'I want you to stay with Dr Bailey, she's pretty worked up and I wanna make sure that doesn't get in the way of the baby's care.'

'I don't need a babysitter.' Miranda said as she came out of the room at the side of Tuck's gurney.

'I know you don't,' the Chief said loudly before going quieter. 'Stay with her, and keep an eye on Doctor Mason here as well, since I know there's no chance of convincing her to go back to her room.'

Grace just scoffed at let Grey take control of the wheelchair. 'That's my godson, I'll shoot you if you even think of suggesting I stay away.'

* * *

Grace was sat in the corner of the room listening to Miranda list off the injuries Tuck had, her heart clenching with each word. She had a tight grip on the arms of her wheelchair and was using every bit of willpower she had to not fall apart. Because Miranda did not need that right now.

'What are you all standing around for? Page Hahn and the Chief! Book an OR.'

As the babies scattered Grace just looked at her friend. 'We…can go down there, be waiting for updates.'

Miranda nodded still looking kind of lost but after a moment shook her head and walked over to take hold of Grace's chair.

* * *

Grace looked up as she heard footsteps. 'Derek.'

Derek smiled at her. 'What is she doing?' He looked into the office where Miranda was.

'Going over every single step she took in their apartment this morning.' Grace ran a hand over her face. 'For about the twentieth time, or thirtieth, I lost count.'

'And you?'

Grace just shook her head. 'I know what she's doing won't help. I did the same thing after…but how can I tell her to stop when it's the only thing holding her together?'

Derek leaned over and hugged her. Grace was surprised at the action and went stiff for a second before relaxing and leaning against him.

'Will you try?' She mumbled into his shoulder.

'Sure.'

* * *

Later Grace was sat on Tucker's left as they watched over Tuck. She was running a gentle hand over his head while his Daddy held his hand.

'Miranda mentioned you had a baby once.' Tucker said out of nowhere. 'How…what happened?'

'I was raped and brutally beaten while I was pregnant. I woke up two weeks later to find my baby clinging to life. My best friend had run himself ragged going between sitting at my bedside and sitting at his. He was only four weeks old when…' Grace took a long, shuddering breath. 'He was just too small, too weak and too early.'

'I'm sorry.' Tucker took her free hand in his.

'I will never be able to accept that there's a reason I couldn't have my baby with me, but I heard something that made it slightly less hard.'

'What?'

'That some souls are just too pure for this earth, so God calls them back to heaven to keep them close to him, where they will never know sadness or pain, only ever know joy and peace.'

Their quiet was broken when the Chief and Miranda came in with the woman Grace was sure was the faith healer everyone had been talking about.

The woman looked down at Tuck for a moment. 'I need you to hold hands.' She took one of Miranda's and one of Grace's.

Tuck looked at Miranda. 'Why?'

'Because the energy in here it's…it's not healing.' Mrs Archer said to Tuck. 'So I need you to hold hands and focus all of your love on this child. For a few minutes I want you to try to forgive each other. Can you try to do that?'

There was a long moment but then Tucker took Miranda's hand.

After they had all held hands for a moment, Mrs Archer let go of them and put her hands on Tuck. Grace kept hold of Tucker's hand, and he kept hold of Miranda's, and Grace thought of nothing but how much she loved her nephew.


	58. Where The Wild Things Are

_Author Note - Thanks you for all the follows/faves and reviews. **First** of two updates since this is so short._

* * *

 _Good instincts usually tell you what to do before your head has it figured out._

* * *

'So what's the deal with the contest Bailey has her residents doing?' Mark asked as she took her hot chocolate from him. 'What's the prize?'

Grace chuckled. 'Years ago, I think even before the Chief was a resident, a bunch of residents came up with the idea. Basically anything surgical related, even just sutures, got assigned different amounts of points, at the end of two weeks the winner gets what is essentially 'dibs'. Any surgical case comes in, the winner has to be paged, on a special sparkle pager, and they have the opportunity to take the surgery if they want it. For three months.'

Mark whistled. 'That's a nice prize. I'm guessing since Bailey is running the show, she won?'

'Yeah, she won by sixteen points.' Grace grinned widely. 'Only missed out on beating my record by a point.'

'So you had the sparkle pager?'

'She's the one that made it sparkle.'

Grace looked up and grinned when she saw Miranda with Tuck in her arms. 'Oh, hey Tuck!' She set down her drink and eagerly held her arms out for her godson.

Miranda walked over and set Tuck into her lap. The baby happily smiling at her at waggling his rabbit toy in her face. It was one that Grace had made for him, much to his delight, he was rabbit mad at the moment.

'You made it sparkle?' Mark asked with an amused smile.

'Of course, I thought something with that much power should look more impressive.' Grace turned her attention back to Tuck, speaking to him in the way all adults spoke to babies. 'Yes I did, I made sparkle and shimmer and look so shiny.' She grinned as he laughed at her.

Mark just rolled his eyes. 'How many surgeries did you end up poaching?'

Grace smirked. 'Over the course of three months? A fair number.'

'Same here,' Miranda said with a matching expression. 'I got some real good ones too. Nothing better than being able to look at a gem of a surgery and be able to go 'that's mine'. Loved it.'

Mark looked between them for a moment. 'You two are a pair of power hungry dictators, aren't you?'

Grace scoffed. 'You're just realising this?'


	59. Piece Of My Heart

_Author Note - This is the **second update** of two today. Make sure you have read Ch. 58 as well._

* * *

 _Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end._

* * *

'Hey there.'

Grace grinned as she looked up from her book. 'Addie!' She all but squealed and hugged her friend. 'Oh it's so good to see you, phone calls and texts just don't do the job.'

Addie nodded as she stepped back. 'I know, I'll try to visit again when it's just for pleasure, not business.' She went to the end of Grace's bed and lifted her chart. After a moment she put it back and looked at her.

'I know.' Grace said with a slight smile.

'You can't wait much longer.' Addie said quietly.

'I know, but…they seem to be getting better.' Grace fiddled with the book in her hands. 'They'll never be what they were before, but they're building something that will be just as strong.'

Addie nodded and changed the subject. 'So you're the only person that hasn't suggested I'm back so far.'

Grace chuckled and opened her book again. 'That's because I know the reason behind it all.'

* * *

'Why is nobody impressed with the fact that I grew a flap of skin for this baby?' Mark asked as he dropped a pizza box on the table.

'I'm impressed,' Grace said as she took a slice of meat lovers – minus the ham and with added olives. 'They're heathens that have no appreciation for the subtlety of your art.'

Mark nodded decisively. 'Thank you.'

'I'd stop referring to yourself as God though.' Grace said with a smirk, enjoying Mark's groan as he realised the gossip network had already filled her in on that.

* * *

'Two things.' Addie said as she stopped by with a hot chocolate. 'First, you didn't tell me Derek and Meredith had broken up – '

'So not getting into that one. Derek and I have finally developed a friendship after nearly two decades of hatred, his love life is not my business.'

'Fine. Second, are Callie and the new heart doctor a couple?'

Grace choked on her hot chocolate. As she spluttered and wiped herself clean Grace looked at Addie in surprise. 'What?!'

'They act like a couple.'

'Er…' Grace thought for a moment. 'I…suppose they do, but I don't talk to Hahn much, we got off to a bad start, she assumed that since we both have vaginas we were on the same side.'

'Your best friend is Mark Sloan and she thought that?'

Grace shrugged. 'It's not so bad now, but we just don't talk much. Callie hasn't mentioned anything though.'

* * *

'Don't get changed just yet.' Mark said as he appeared in the doorway of her room with a wheelchair and a couple of blankets. 'I'm springing you for an hour, again. You can have a drink with me then I'll bring you back.'

Grace chuckled and let him help her into a jacket (a leather one she'd stolen from him), help into the chair and then cover her with the blankets. 'You let the nurses know, right?'

Mark laughed. 'Even I'm not stupid enough to try and get this past them without permission.' He started rolling her down the hall. 'I am never pissing the nurses off again.'

Grace chuckled and then when the doors to the lift opened she froze before desperately trying smother her laughter. Derek was in the lift, along with Addie, Meredith _and_ Rose.

Mark chuckled as well as he shifted into position between Derek and Rose. 'I bet you wish you'd taken the stairs right about now.' She heard him whisper to Derek, making it that much harder to not burst out laughing.

Derek hummed in agreement before talking to her. 'Stop it, or I'll take away your hot chocolate privileges.

Grace lost it and gave up trying to hide her laughter.


	60. The Becoming

_Author Note - Another double update, partly because this chapter is so short and partly because I might not be able to update tomorrow and after that I will be away for a few day. The is the **first**_ _of two chapters._

* * *

 _Introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly._

* * *

Grace stood for a moment trying to process what she had just overheard as she walked slowly down the hall with her walking frame. After a long minute she continued and came to a stop outside the nurses station.

'Debbie?'

The nurse looked up at her and smiled. 'Something I can do for you Doctor Mason?'

'I heard something and I'm…I'm really hoping you'll tell that for once the on call room gossip is wrong.' Grace paused for a deep breath. 'Are Mark and Doctor Torres…not using the on call room for sleeping?'

Debbie hesitated, which was answer enough. 'I'm sorry, Grace.'

Grace just nodded and managed a slight smile. 'Okay.' She turned and went back into her room.

* * *

Grace was stabbing at her lunch when Miranda came in, ranting as she did.

'Can you believe that the Chief has made me exempt from this sex…census! Out of everyone in the hospital he singles me out! It's just – ' she suddenly stopped as she seemed to take in Grace's mood. 'What's wrong with you?'

'Like people often say, the rumour mill in this hospital is faster than light.' Grace had pretty much turned her fires into mush by now. 'Especially when it comes to the on call rooms.'

'Oh,' Miranda seemed to deflate as her anger left her. 'Grace, I'm sorry, I didn't even think to – '

'It's fine.' Grace said in a careful tone. 'He can sleep with whoever he likes, that's not what I'm bothered about.'

Miranda nodded. 'Torres.'

Grace nodded as well. 'The only person that doesn't know about my feelings is Mark, now the nurses I don't mind, we're friendly, but not friends, but Callie…'

'You want me to mess up her schedule for you?'

Grace managed to laugh at that and shook her head as she pushed away her uneaten lunch. 'No, it's fine, I just…it's fine.' But as she looked at Miranda she knew that they both knew she was lying.


	61. Losing My Mind

_Author Note - This is the **second** of two chapters uploaded today. Make sure you don't miss Ch. 60._

* * *

 _I may be crazy but it keeps me from going insane._

* * *

'Are you aware that your best friend seems to have sworn off sex?'

'Are you aware that you are complaining about not having sex – again – with the man I love?' Grace didn't look up from her sewing.

'Oh, er…'

'I'll take that as an I-forgot-that-tiny-detail.' Grace flipped over the two pieces of fabric that would eventually be part of the new green bunny she was making for Tuck. 'Let's be clear, I can take the nurses banging him, because despite my respect for them and vice versa, I'm not actually friends with them. You, I was friends with. So, you want to sleep with Mark? Go ahead, but we aren't friends anymore.' There was just silence. 'Don't let the door hit you on the way out.'

* * *

The nurses had been all set to grab their pitchforks in defence of Grace, but she had called them off. Not out of any lingering ideas of friendship with Callie, but because Mark would no doubt notice and ask why. She wasn't ready for that conversation yet. As it was, every time a nurse entered her room they made sure that Grace knew the offer was still up for the taking. It was rather endearing to have such a blatant reminder of how much people in the hospital cared for her. It eased the hurt of Callie's actions, though not the anger.

* * *

Grace took a bite of the chicken salad Mark had brought from the cafeteria for her, he was sat beside her on the bed, with his burger and fries, but then she almost choked when he spoke.

'Torres and Hahn have been taunting me with thoughts of a threesome all day.'

Grace gasped and grabbed her water as Mark knocked her on the back. The water washed the piece of chicken free and Grace took a deep breath.

'You okay?'

'Yeah,' she paused and cleared her throat. 'Yeah, you just surprised me. So, you've had that image in your head all day?' She kept her tone light, despite the fact that she wanted to stab her fork into something and cause a surgery worthy injury.

'No.' Mark denied immediately, but she just gave him a look until he caved. 'Okay, yes. I've turned over a new leaf not had a personality transplant.'

Grace chuckled and shook her head. 'I know, either way though, you're still my Markie.'

'And you're still my Gracie.' He nudged her with his elbow and they went back to eating in silence.


	62. Freedom

_Author Note - Back from my short holiday, had a lovely time visiting family. This is the_ ** _first_** _of two updates today. I know the last few chapters have been short but there are some longer ones coming soon. Thanks for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Two men look out from the same prison bars; one sees mud, the other stars._

* * *

Grace looked into the neuro lab where Derek had just swiped a load of paperwork of the table he was leaning on. 'How many people are diagnosed with this kind of tumour each year?'

Derek looked up in surprise. 'What?'

'Twelve people have died so far.' Grace said quietly. 'One more might die, yes, but she might also live. How many people could taking that chance potentially save?'

For a moment it looked like he might start raging at her. 'You've made a decision, haven't you?'

Grace's lips twitched. 'Yeah, I just need…a little more time.'

'Okay,' he actually managed to smile. 'Alright then.' She turned to leave but looked back as he spoke again. 'For what it's worth, if I had a uterus you're the only one I'd let near it.'

'Not Addie?' Grace asked with a laugh.

Derek shuddered. 'You want me to let my ex-wife near my unmentionables? No thanks.'

* * *

Mark came into her room after the surgery with the cement boy was done with. he was clearly exhausted as he nudged her over and collapsed on the bed beside her.

'I take it you can't be arsed going back to the apartment or hotel?' Grace asked as she settled closer to him, flipping the page in her book.

'Nah...we can share your bed.' He heaved and sigh and leaned back with his eyes closed, it only took a couple of minutes for him to be fast asleep. Which is how Derek found them later when he came in her room looking rather dejected.

He glanced at Mark and spoke quietly. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I just...'

As he went too back out of the room Grace called out to him. 'You can still hide in here, I don't mind, and neither would he.'

Derek hesitated, looking between the two of them before finally coming in an sitting on the chair beside her bed. 'She's alive, for now.' He said after a minute before leaning back with a hand over his eyes, clearly tired in more than just a physical sense.

'One step at a time.' Grace replied before going back to her book.

* * *

Later, when she was getting ready to go to the sleep for the night, Mark having left earlier when he woke up, Grace saw Derek rushing past her room looking a lot happier with a bottle of champagne in his hand.

Grace went to sleep with a matching smile on her face.


	63. Dream A Little Dream Of Me

_Author Note - This is the **second** of two chapters added today._

* * *

 _There is no need for revenge. Living happily ever after is a sign that you have not let the past beat you._

* * *

Grace was sat in her wheelchair as close to Miranda as she could get. Mark perched on the desk next to her with Derek and Hahn on the Miranda's otherside and Yang off behind them all.

'Back up, you're sucking on my oxygen.' Miranda said as Derek got a little too close.

'Yeah, personal space Derek.' Grace said with a tired grin.

He grinned back at her. 'The only reason you aren't perched in her knee is because you had a migraine last night and don't have the energy to fight her.'

'Meh,' Grace said as she stuck her tongue out at him. 'Is it up yet?' She asked Miranda again.

'It's not up yet,' Miranda said again.

'It's supposed to be posted at four,' Hahn said as she moved a little closer.

Mark checked his watch. 'It's 4:15.'

'Hit the refresh button,' Yang said helpfully. 'You have to reload the page.' She tried to do so but Miranda just smacked her hand away.

'I'm hitting the refresh button every ten seconds, just wait.'

'Is it up yet? Grey asked as she appeared beside Yang.

Just after that Karev appeared asking the same question. Which just frustrated Miranda more.

Mark sighed. 'I'm thinking we move up a slot, we pass Hopkins, move up to number one.' Grace wasn't too sure about that, they'd a few bumps this year.

'We're not passing Hopkins,' Derek said dismissively. 'We'll stay number two.'

'Mayo could surge ahead,' Hahn suggested. 'We could be three.'

'Three?' Derek repeated with shock. 'Pessimist.'

'Realist.' Grace said jumping into the debate. 'I'm with Hahn, there are a lot of factor's that effect the ratings of teaching hospitals, anything could knock us down a slot or two.'

Mark considered that. 'Ah...three's top five. I can live with three.'

'Hit the refresh button.' Karev said leaning towards the computer, only to recieve the same reaction as Yang.

'Stay back, I'm doing this!' Miranda snapped out back him retreat.

There was the sound of rushing feet and Stevens arrived. 'Is it up yet?' She got a round of no's in response. 'Here, just hit the refresh - '

'I am hitting the refresh - ' Miranda bit out before turning to face them. 'Okay, all of you, back up. Stop hovering, stop speculating. The ranking will go up when they go up. We have no control over when they are posted. When it is up, I will say it is up. Until then, back up, shut up and leave me alone so I can - '

'It's up.' Grace and Meredith said together, having kept their eyes on the screen. Everyone immediately moved in closer as Miranda began to read down the list.

'Number one, Hopkins, number two, Mayo, three, Cleveland Clinic...'

'What?' Derek said with a frown.

'...Four, Mass Gen...'

'We moved down to five?' Yang asked in surprise.

'That's not our name in the fifth slot,' Grace as Miranda kept moving down.

* * *

Grace was sat outside the nursery, hoping that the little bundles of potential would cheer her up after finding out their new ranking of 12.

'Grace?'

Looking away from the babies, Grace saw Lucy Knox approaching her. 'Lucy, hey there.'

'Trying to forget about the new ranking?' Her colleague asked with a smile.

'Ugh, twelve, we're twelve.' Grace rubbed her head trying to ignore her headache. 'Yes, I was hoping to forget about it for a while. How's things?'

Lucy smiled. 'Well I know you don't mean professionally, since you already know all that,' they both laughed at that. 'Grant and I are doing fine. Jessica won a gymnastics competition recently, first place place out of the whole state.'

Grace smiled widely at that. 'That's amazing, tell her congratulations. How's your mother?'

'Not too good, but not bad either.' Lucy aid, her smile fading slightly. 'She's moved in with us permanently, she can't manage on her own now, so we're building an extension to have an extra living area that she can have to herself.'

'That's too bad, but I'm sure she'll be around for a while longer yet.'

Lucy nodded. 'So do I, she actually seems to be picked up healthwise, so I think she was more stressed living by herself than she let on.'

Grace chuckled. 'Maybe she was faking so she could come keep a closer eye on you.' She paused to rub her head again.

'And you? how are your latest scans?'

'The tumour has grown a little more, hence the headaches.' Grace said with a sigh. 'But it's not desperate yet.'

Lucy shook her head. 'Well hurry up and get better, we've been missing you up here.'

* * *

Grace twitched when she felt lips brush her forehead. 'Hey Markie... time is it?'

'Late, go back to sleep Gracie, I was just checking on you before I left.'

As Grace drifted off again she wished she could find the right moment to tell Mark how she truly felt. Then she fell asleep, dreaming of the happy ever after they might have if only she could find the courage to chase it.


	64. Here Comes The Flood

_Author Note - Thanks for all the follows/faves reviews._

* * *

 _One day, someone is going to hug you so tight, all of your broken pieces will stick back together._

* * *

'So what do you think?' Richard asked as he finished outlining what he planned to say in his announcment.

Grace nodded slowly. 'I think it's good. There's going to be an adjustment period, I hope you realise that?'

Richard sighed and ate the last of his breakfast sandwich. 'I'm aware. But overall, this is what's best for the hospital.'

'I completely agree, things have been sliding for a while.' Grace paused and laughed. 'I think I'm a fine example of that.'

'What do you mean? Your department is always exemplary.'

Grace sat forward on her bed. 'But it isn't my department anymore. I've been putting off a life saving surgery, sitting on my ass, wasting away when I could be putting multi-milliondollar hands to good use, teaching good things, saving lives that haven't even begun yet.'

'So have the surgery.' Richard said simply as he stood.

'I need to find the courage to tell Mark how I feel first.' Grace flopped back on her bed. 'I just don't know where to look.'

Richard chuckled and went to the door. 'Try getting in touch with your inner intern. She's the one that managed to perform a completely new technique on an unborn baby, saving his life, after her attending passed out in the OR.'

Grace smiled at that. 'I'll keep that in mind.'

* * *

'Tyler? What is going on?' Grace asked as the nurse came into her room. 'Can I hear water?'

Tyler nodded as he began to take her stats. 'Yeah, there's a burst pipe and water damage all over the place. Apparently a ceiling collapsed over an open patient, so the surgical floor is being shut down and the patients being moved elsewhere.'

'I'm moving somewhere else?' Grace asked, sitting up straighter with alarm. 'Where am I going? I don't want to go anwhere else?!'

'Gracie, Gracie, calm down.' Mark came rushing and took hold of her arms. 'It's okay, the Chief is just moving you up to the Maternity ward, that way you'll be with people you know, and people who know you. Okay?'

Grace took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down a bit. 'I'm staying at Seattle Grace?'

Mark nodded. 'That's right. You're staying here, I'll be here as well. Okay?'

'Okay. I'm okay.' Grace heaved out a few shuddering breaths, trying to stop shaking.

'I think we should give you a mild sedative, while you're getting moved. It'll be easier for you that way. What do you think Gracie?'

Grace nodded slightly. 'Yeah, yeah, that's probably for the best.'

'Alright, I'm staying with you until your settled in Maternity, so just relax, and I'll take care of you.'

'Okay,' Grace felt her heart finally begin to settle as she selt the sedative start to take hold. 'I think I'll just lie down, try to sleep.'

Mark helped her lay down again. 'You do that Gracie, I'm here.' He leaned down to drop a kiss on her cheek. 'I'm not going anywhere.'


	65. Brave New World

_Author Note - Yes, I'm aware this chapter is obscenely short. There will be another up soon._

* * *

 _A smooth sea never made a skillfull sailor._

* * *

Grace sat twitching in her wheelchair as the fire alarm went off around her, waiting for Debbie to return to take her out of the hospital. Just then Tyler in and she verbally pounced on him.

'Tyler! Where's Debbie? Was Mark paged? Does he know what's going on?'

Tyler chuckled and come over, just then the alarm went silent. 'That's the good news, apparently some kid pulled the alarm when nobody would promise him that he didn't have to have surgery.'

'I don't have to be evactuated?' Grace asked hopefully.

'Not unless you want to be going down to an OR anytime today?' Tyler said as he helped her shft back into bed, supporting her when her legs wouldn't.

'Ha, ha.' Grace said with a rolled of her eyes. 'You're hilarious. So Mark wasn't paged then?'

Tyler shood his head. 'No, but he got the message about what happened and that you wanted to see him, he'll be coming round anytime now.'

'Okay, thanks Tyler.' She sighed and settled back into bed as he left. 'Bloody kids, giving me a damn heart attack.'


	66. There's No 'I' In Team

_Author Note - This is the **second** of two chapters uploaded today. We're almost there **animexchick**._

* * *

 _If you want to go fast, go alone. If want to go far, go together._

* * *

Grace was happily reading the article about Derek, being pushed back from another picture session for her brain, when Mark appeared in front of her.

'Callie tried to talk to me about her date last night.'

'Give us a minute Chloe?' Grace said, looking up at the nurse pushing her along. When the young woman was gone Grace loked at Mark. 'And?'

'Well, apparently, they went a bit further than normal, but she choked. And then she was disappointed when I decided to leave instead of listening. Apparently she thought I find it hot listening to her being depressing, but girl on girl action is supposed to be hot, not depressing.'

Grace just looked at Mark for a moment. 'Well at least she's trying.'

'Does that mean I can push her in your direction?'

'No way.' Grace said with a laugh. 'Just because Addie and I did it once does not...mean...' she trailed off at Mark's strange expression. 'What is it?'

'What do you mean, Addie and I? What does that mean?'

Grace frowned slightly. 'I never told you about that before?'

'I think I would remember you telling me about you and Addie...' he paused with another strange look on his face. 'What exactly are we talking about here? Is this like...a heavy make out session or we in the full on lesbian loving zone.'

'Ah,' she finally got why he was acting strangely. Grace sat back in the wheelchair and smirked up at him. 'You and Derek were off somewhere, they weren't quite official yet, and Addie and I were having a girls night at her place. We were drunk and got into the topic of guys and then onto how guys like girls together...

'One thing led to another,' Grace spoke slowly, eking out the details to tease Mark. 'And, well, both of us were very...satisfied with the evening, even though we decided we liked guys better.'

She stopped and took in Mark's dumbstruck expression. 'Mark?' No response. Chuckling, she started to roll herself away, Chloe reappearing to push her along.

'What did you say to Doctor Sloan?' Chloe asked curiously. 'I've never seen him look like that.'

'Oh, I just broke his brain a little bit.' Grace was very pleased with herself.


	67. Life In Wartime

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting._

* * *

Grace was stood next to Derek and Mark, leaning mostly on Mark for support, when the Chief came over to them.

'Ah, gentlemen, and Grace, I want you to meet the new head of trauma at Seattle Grace. Major Owen Hunt, you remember Derek Shepherd, Mark Sloan.'

'He stole my patient,' Derek said as he shook Hunt's hand.

Mark copied the action. 'Mine too.'

'Well now you'll get a chance to steal mine,' Hunt replied in the same light tone.

Grace rolled her eyes at them. 'Boys and their toys. Doctor Grace Mason, though I'm obviously not practicing at the moment,' she shook hands with the new trauma surgeon as she gestured to the wheeled IV stand she was attached to.

'Yes, the Chief mentioned you, though I knew of you already.'

'You did? How?' She figured some of the admin staff must have talked about her.

Hunt smiled and pulled his wallet from his pocket as he talked. 'I served with a guy, his wife was pregnant, the method you developed as an intern saved their baby's life. Neither of them had heard of it so they really looked into you.' He held out a picture of a smiling couple with a gorgeous little boy about three years old in their arms.

Grace couldn't help but smile softly at the picture. 'He's beautiful. Glad I could help, however indirectly.' She smile became a little fixed, in the face of that little boy Grace was reminded that she wasn't doing her best work anymore, in a way she never has. All because of her stubbornness and fear. Handing the picture back Grace flagged down a passing orderly with an empty wheelchair. 'I think I'm going to go lie down for a while. It was nice meeting you Doctor Hunt.'

Without waiting for any reply Grace motioned for Timothy to start pushing her away.

* * *

Derek came into her room not long after she'd been settled on her bed.

'Want to talk about it?' He asked as sat at the end end of the bed.

Grace sighed and ran a hand through her hair. 'That picture, it was like...a great big neon sign, flashing in my face, reminding me of what I'm no longer doing, reminding me that I've _never_ been doing my best.' She gestured to her table where the journal with Derek's article was still sat. 'I'm not operating, I'm not doing research, I'm not doing anything except wasting away in this bed!'

'So?' Derek asked as he shifted closer and put a hand on her arm. 'What are you going to do about it?'

'I going to tell you to schedule my surgery for tonight.' Grace said, taking his hand in hers and holding tightly. 'But you don't tell anyone.'

Derek hesitated. 'By anyone, you mean Mark.' Grace just nodded. 'As your doctor, I can do that, I will do that. As your friend and Mark's friend, I'll tell you that I think you should tell him.'

Grace nodded again. 'I'll try, I just...I need to do this before I never do it.'

'I understand.' Derek stood and then moved closer to hug her, Grace holding onto him tightly, shaking slightly. 'Don't worry Gracie, I've got you.'

'Tell me you'll have him too, especially if...'

Derek shook his head. 'That won't be needed, but yes. I've got Mark.'

* * *

Grace sat in the bed as she was pushed towards the OR, her fingers tapping on railing anxiously. Derek had finished with the head wound guy not too long ago and now he would be waiting for her.

Tyler pushed her bed through the OR door and Grace let out a shuddering breath. As the bed slid into place beside the operating table, Grace let Tyler and Marie, a scrub nurse, help her into position.

'I'll be seeing you later Doctor Mason,' Tyler said firmly as he left the room again.

Just then Derek came, freshly scrubbed, and despite not seeing half his face, Grace knew he was smiling at her. 'Grace, you ready to do this?'

'Yes.' Grace replied with a wobbly nod. 'Yes, I am.' She laid down as the anesthesiast, Dominic, attched her IV cables to his machines.

'Alright, so I should probably tell you - '

'Wait, no!' Grace sat back up suddenly. 'I can't, I need Mark, I have to talk to Mark first!' How the hell could she have considered doing this without talking to him! 'Get Mark!'

Derek chuckled. 'He's in the scrub room Grace.'

Grace snapped her head in that direction as Mark came into the OR, hastily masked. 'Mark!'

'You idiot, Grace Mason!' Mark hurried to her side, all but shoving Derek out of the way. 'Why did you... I just...why?!'

'I thought I'd back out if you knew, because you'd be worrying, and I hate when you worry.' Grace babbled and hand tightly holding Mark's scrub top. 'But, I changed my mind, I just needed to see you again before I get knocked out.'

Mark sighed and brushed his mask cover mouth against her shaved head, right over where Derek would be cutting. 'You idiot.'

'You said that already,' Grace said with a chuckle.

'It needed saying again.' Mark stepped back slightly. 'You good?'

Grace nodded firmly, much more relaxed now Mark was here. 'Stay until I'm under, and then leave. I won't have you seeing my insides even if it is the best part of me.' She laid down and from the corner of her eye Grace saw Dominic start the drugs.

'I don't know admiration for me had a physical presence in the body.' Mark said with an obvious smile.

Faced with the nearing possibility of never seeing him again...

'I love you. I've been in love with you for years. The only person I can...' Grace felt her eyes closing and drugs pulling her under. 'You're the only...one for me...always...and forever...'

* * *

 _Author Note - TA DA! Let me know if this was worth the wait. Don't worry, still plenty to come._


	68. Mark Waiting

_Author Note - I'm glad so many of you seemed to love the last chapter. Thanks for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _It is better to die fighting, than to die giving up._

* * *

Mark looked down at Grace as her eyes fluttered closed, the anaesthesia knocking her out. Her words were still ringing in his ears as he looked up at Derek.

'Did…did she just say that?'

Derek nodded. 'I just can't believe you didn't know.'

'You did?' Mark asked with wide eyes.

Opposite Derek, Karev made a noise of amusement. 'I think every single person in the hospital, _besides_ you, knows she's in love with you.'

Mark was just reeling. 'But, I thought she thought of me a brother.'

'Yeah right,' Derek said with a roll of his eyes. 'It's the main reason she put this off as long. I think us making up was an excuse, she was just trying to find the courage to tell you.'

Mark then realised something. 'Wait a minute. You're saying all this time, all the times I've been talking about the one nights stands I've had, the on call meet ups, and Addie, all through that, she's talked about it with me, gave me advice, and loved me at the same time?!'

Derek just nodded. And so did everyone else in the room.

'Fuck.' Mark said as he looked back down at his best friend.

'That about sums it up.' Derek said with a chuckle. 'Now, you have go sit out in the waiting room, or at the nurse's station. But you can't be in here or watching.'

Mark just kept looking at Grace, his mind boggling over the new information he had.

'Doctor Sloan,' Karev said, getting his attention. 'When she wakes up and finds out you stayed in here, she'll kick your ass.'

'Yeah,' Mark nodded and laughed slightly. 'Okay.' He dropped a kiss on Grace's forehead, and then quickly made his way out of the room.

* * *

He started off at the nurse's station nearest the OR Grace was in, but the temptation to go to the observation room was too much and he moved to the waiting room.

As time passed, others came and sat with him. First was Callie, then Miranda, Richard, Grey, Stevens, O'Malley, Yang, a few of the newest interns, even Hahn and Hunt turned up. A bunch of nurses joined them when they finished their shift, a couple of lab techs as well, and others that were still working would sit for a few minutes before leaving again.

The others all talked quietly amongst themselves but Mark was quiet. He just sat and kept his eyes on the doors Derek would walk through. He didn't know whether to be glad that it was taking so long or not. That either meant Derek was being extra cautious and taking his time or…there had been complications.

Every time someone came through the doors he tensed, only to heave a sigh when it wasn't Derek.

Until it was.

Mark was on his feet in an instant, dimly noticing everyone falling silent around him.

Derek, bastard that he was, gave away nothing on his face. He stopped in front of Mark, and then nodded. 'It went well.'

Mark felt his knees give way in relief, and sank back into his seat. 'Give me a minute.' He put his head into his hands, mentally thanking every deity he didn't believe in that his Gracie was okay. The others were making a happy cheerful din around him.

A hand went to his shoulder and gripped it. 'Everything went smoothly, no complications, it went according to the plan, letter by letter. Grace will wake up soon, and we'll be able to see how she is with more precision then. But I have high hopes that she'll be a hundred percent within a couple of months.'

Wiping his eyes Mark stood and hugged his brother tightly. 'Thank you, thank you.' He took and deep breath, smiling happily. 'Where is she?'

'Karev stayed with her as they moved her to her room,' Derek said as he turned and started to lead him away. 'I'll go up with you.'

Mark glanced back at the others. 'Thanks, for staying, but you better go home now, or she'll kick your asses.' As they others chuckled, he let Derek lead the way, still unable to stop smiling.


	69. Waking Up

_Author Note - Thank you you for all the follows/faves and reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed the small POV change._

* * *

 _I always wake up smiling, I think it's your fault._

* * *

'Can you hear me?'

Grace heard the words filter into her brain as she began to wake up. A moment later, a bright light was in her eyes as someone pried at her lids.

'Fuck off,' she moaned out, trying to make her hands bat them away.

There was a familiar laugh and Grace managed to get her eyes to flicker open slightly. 'Markie…'

'I'm here Gracie, open your eyes, let Derek check you out.'

'Not my type,' Grace mumbled slipping back to sleep a moment later.

* * *

Grace blinked a few times, recognising the ICU room she was in. It was the same one she'd been in after she first got shot. Turning her aching head, she saw Mark with his head and arms resting on her bed, asleep. She managed to find the energy to lift her hand and touch his cheek lightly.

'Markie…wake up.' She poked his cheek when he didn't shift at first.

He jerked upright and blinked before he realised she was awake. All tiredness fled from his face, replaced by a wide smile.

'Gracie! You're awake.' He moved closer and taking hold of her hand as he did. 'How are you feeling?'

'Okay…' she moved her other hand to her head and felt the bandages there. 'Sore but...okay.'

Mark seemed to sag slightly. 'Good, I'm glad.' He kissed the hand he was holding. 'I'm so glad.'

Grace smiled back at him. 'Tell me you at least had something to eat.'

'Yeah,' Mark said with a laugh. 'The nurses threatened to tell on me if I didn't.'

'Good,' Grace shifted slightly, sleep already pulling at her again.

Mark, if possible, moved closer. 'Before you go to sleep again…we need to talk about what you said in the OR. Do you remember?'

Grace tensed slightly but nodded.

'I gotta tell you,' Mark said, not taking his eyes from hers. 'You kind of blindsided me with that one.'

Grace didn't find that very hopeful. 'You don't have to – '

'I would never in a million have dared to believe you could love me back.'

'W-what?' Grace said with wide eyes. 'What did you say?'

Mark's lips twitched slightly. 'I always loved you Gracie. I just thought you saw me as your brother. Do you remember that day in New York, it was the middle of December, two in the morning and we'd been out late.'

Grace knew what day he meant, but kept quiet, just nodding slightly.

'We decided to walk back through central park and it started snowing again.' Mark eyes softened as he remembered. 'You had on the blue coat Addie had bought you and the yellow gloves and scarf I got you. And you giggled in delight at the sight of the snow and wandered onto the grass, then you swung your arms out, and span in circles, your hair fanning out around you. And it was that moment, I realised I was in love with you.

'Your coat was old and faded and need a wash, your boots were covered in mud, and your makeup was smudged across your face and I'd never seen anyone more beautiful.'

Grace felt a couple of tears slide down her face and the amount of love that was in his voice. 'Mark…'

Mark smiled and wiped the tears away. 'I love you Gracie, I have for years. The best part is…a couple years after that I got really drunk, and I mean _really_ drunk. And despite the fact I hadn't told you and I still thought you thought of me as a brother, I went and bought this.'

Grace gaped as Mark pulled out a small blue box. 'Is that…?' She trailed off, unable to actually ask.

'When I sobered up, I was sprawled across my floor, this digging into me from my pocket and pieces of paper around me on the floor, covered in illegible writing that I'm pretty sure was my half assed practices at proposing. I was also only dressed in my shirt, socks and one shoe, nothing else.'

Grace couldn't help but laugh at the picture that inspired. 'Oh Mark.'

Mark grinned at her. 'I put the ring away. But whenever I saw you, it was the first thing I thought of, until I remembered what I thought you felt for me.' He turned more serious. 'But now, I know how you really feel, so. Grace Louisa Mason, you are the first thing I think of in the morning, and the last thought on my mind at night. The idea of you not being in my life is…unimaginable, so please, tell me you will never let me go and that you'll keep me forever.'

He opened the box to reveal the most perfect ring Grace had ever seen. It had flowers and vines on with two diamond studded parts looping around a larger central diamond.

Grace looked back up at Mark. At _her_ Mark. 'Always and forever, right?'

Mark's face just about split in half as he swooped forward to kiss her on the lips for the first time. It was gentle and loving but full of passion that was all Mark and Grace returned it wholeheartedly.

When he pulled back, Mark took the ring from the box and slipped it onto the appropriate finger. 'Always and forever.'

The two of them were suddenly startled by the sound of applause and cheers. Looking away from each other for the first time, they saw people crowding outside her room, doctors, nurses, orderlies, even a few patients. All them smiling widely at the pair of them.

Derek emerged from the crowd, smiling. 'Alright, everybody disperse, I need to check Doctor Mason over now.' As everyone left Derek smiled at her. 'Are you going to let me look at you this time, or tell me to get lost again?'

'You can do whatever you want,' Grace replied with a smile. 'As long as Mark stays.' She gripped her new fiancé's hand tightly, grinning at the thought of that word.

'Like I'm stupid enough to try and separate the pair of you.' Derek said with a laugh.

* * *

 _Author Note - How about them apples?_


	70. Back In The Game

_Author Note - I'm happy so many of you enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks for all the reviews/follows and faves._

* * *

 _You don't get in something to test the waters, you go into things to make waves._

* * *

'Derek Shepherd if you don't clear me for surgery I will take chart and shove it so far up - '

'You're clear Grace.' Derek said, cutting her off with a laugh after having extrutiatingly drawn out giving the all clear.

Grace yelled happily and hugged Derek before turning and doing the same to a surprised Alex. 'Yes! Because I just got approached about removing a tumour on a fetus' heart. I'll need to open the mother up, and the baby and then return the baby without triggering a premature birth.'

'No way, seriously?' Karev asked with wide eyes.

'Want in Karev?' Grace said, already knowing the answer.

Alex immediately started nodding. 'Hell yes, count me in.'

Grace slid of the bed and adjusted her headband that was decorating hair that was still only a couple of inches long. 'Good, you'll need to brush up on things for it. Including my double-back method. If you impress me in a lab situation, I may consider letting you perform that part of the surgery. You've got a week.'

'You won't be disappointed, I promise.' Alex looked from her to Derek.

Derek motioned towards the door. 'Go on, I've only got post-ops left, get started.' The two of them laughed as Alex disappeared.

'So easy,' Grace said with a smile.

'How goes the planning for the wedding?' Derek asked as he filled in the paperwork needed for the records, showing she was clear for surgery.

Grace smiled. 'Very easy, I suppose with how well we know each other, over time things like this...matched up.'

'I can't wait, I honestly never thought I'd see Mark get married,' Derek shook his head. 'But now, it's like, how could it have worked out any other way?'

'I get that,' Grace said, giving him another hug as they left the exam room. 'I'll see you around, Derek.'

Derek grinned as he walked off. 'I'll you see, _Doctor_ Mason.'


	71. Wish You Were Here

_Author Note - These two sections do not occur close together. The first part would be almost straight after Back In The Game, the second part comes later with no direct relation._

 _Thanks for all the follows/faves and reviews. After this chapter there will be larger time jumps between each one story wise._

 _Reminder - Any and all medical descriptions are made up and likely not done like that or don't exist or are impossible._

* * *

 _Stop wishing, start doing._

* * *

Grace was in the scrub room with Alex, she'd done her little good luck routine and now the team were just waiting for the two of them to finish scrubbing.

'Nervous, Doctor Mason?'

'No, actually.' Grace gave Alex a smile that was hidden by her mask. 'For the first time since I became a doctor, I'm not nervous about a surgery. Before there was always the thought of what might happen if I got a tremor at the worst possible time. Not that's gone and all that's left is the calm knowledge that I've got this.'

Alex chuckled. 'I don't know if I'll ever be able to feel like that before surgery, especially not one as risky and complicated as this.'

Grace finished scrubbing and turned to Alex with her hands held upward. 'You are one of the most promising doctors I've seen in a long time Alex Karev. I _know_ that one day, you will be walking into an OR with your back straight and your head calm and ready.' She turned and left the surprised resident to finish scrubbing.

Looking up at the gallery Grace saw Mark front and center, a phone to his ear that she knew had Addie on the other end. The gallery was packed, Miranda, Derek and the Chief also at the front, and she had three interns at the edge of the OR to observe.

Once Grace and Alex were both gowned and gloved and stood beside the patient, Mary-Anne Lawson, Grace smiled up at Mark and then focused her mind where she needed to be.

'Doctor Mandvi, why did the patient wait until now for the surgery, despite the risk to her baby?'

One of the interns jumped and then answered. 'Given the risks of the procedure and the odds of triggering premature labour, every extra day of growth inside the womb increases the odds of the baby's survival if you need to deliver.'

'Correct. Doctor Mostow, why am I opening both the mother and the baby up instead of doing this laparoscopically?'

'Visibility and manoeuvrability. If you open them up you can control exactly how much exposure you have which is crucial despite the increased risks of infection and premature labour.'

'Correct. Doctor Grey, please give a brief description of the double back method that will be used today.'

Lexi took a breath. 'When the veins and arteries of the fetus - baby - are stitched closed the ends of the veins will be slightly inserted within each other. This gives the extremely fragile veins more support while healing and decreases the chances of clots and other complications. Given that the baby will grow quickly, the slight stretching doesn't pose a problem.'

Grace smiled at Lexi. 'Very good.' She looked at Alex. 'Did you take notes Doctor Karev, or do you have this?'

Alex nodded firmly after a moment. 'I've got this Doctor Mason.'

'Ten blade.' Grace held her steady hand out at the scrub nurse, Francine, placed a scalpel there. It was a good job she was expecting it, because otherwise the cheering and applause from the gallery would have made her first cut go wonky.

* * *

Grace pulled off her scrub cap and went into the OR that the Chief had been hogging for most of the day.

She stood next to the bed he was laid on and looked at him. 'I laid in a bed for months wasting time. If you want to start doing the same, there plenty of instruments in here I can use to help.'

Richard looked at her in surprise. 'Excuse me?'

'Stop whining and wishing for the hospital to magically fix itself.' Grace folded her arms and frowned down at him. 'If it helps, and I know it does, my opinion is that Robbins would make a good head of peads. Also, there's muffins waiting in your office for you.'

Grace turned and left, leaving Richard looking rather surprised, she had better things to be doing, like looking for apartment with Mark, one that could be _theirs_.


	72. Ever After

_Author Note - Another time skip. Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _I can't wait to get married, because it's like a sleepover every night with your best friend._

* * *

'Grace!'

Grace turned in the lobby to find Carolyn Shepherd walking up to her. 'Ma Shepherd! You're early, aren't you?' She hugged Carolyn and checked her watch. 'The car Derek sent couldn't have been that quick.'

'I didn't wait for any fancy car my son thinks I need, I took a bus.' Carolyn looked her up and down. 'You, are looking better than I've ever seen you sweetheart. That other boy of mine definitely agrees with you.'

'Yes, yes he does.' Grace couldn't help but smile with Carolyn. 'Do you want me to help you find Derek? He'll be up on the surgical floor.'

Carolyn nodded and hooked her arm through Grace's. 'Let's go, and you can tell me all about your wedding plans on the way.'

* * *

Sitting at the cafeteria table with Carolyn, Derek and Meredith was...interesting. And hilarious. Meredith was acting very un-Meredith and Grace found it hilarious that she thought Carolyn would prefer an Izzy-like girlfriend for her son.

'Derek tells me you grew up here, right in Seattle.' Carolyn said as Meredith sat smiling. 'Are your parents...?'

'Mm, dead.' Meredith said simply, still smiling slightly, which made Grace hide a laugh.

Derek stepped in a drew his mother's attention. 'Meredith's mother died last year.'

'Oh, I'm so sorry.' Carolyn said, looking back at Meredith. 'And your father?'

'Oh, you know, I should go check on the patient,' Meredith said, trying to get out of the conversation. 'Who's the serial killer...who's here. Not killing people. So that's good. I should go.'

Derek nodded. 'Yeah.'

Meredith made a quick exit, leaving Grace trying not to choke on her dinner with laughter.

'Family isn't her favourite topic, okay?' Derek explained to Carolyn. 'She's had a rough time of it.'

'I didn't say a word,' Carolyn denied.

'I know what you're thinking.' Derek said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Carolyn sighed. 'I was thinking, it must be awful for you. Treating a murderer.'

Grace looked down at her plate of fries awkwardly.

'Dad died a long time ago,' Derek said after a long moment. 'I'm fine.'

The three of them went back to eating until Grace broke the silence.

'Is your stay overnight Carolyn?'

Caroyln turned to her with a smile. 'Yes, the ship doesn't leave until tomorrow lunchtime. Why?'

Grace fired off a couple of quick texts, leaving both Carolyn and Derek hanging for a minute until she got two replies back. 'Mark and I have decided to get married tomorrow, I have a friend at the city hall, who can do it for us.'

'But, what about your friends, and a, a dress and a reception?' Carolyn asked past her shock.

'I already have my dress, Mark and Derek both have suits, if you don't have anything, we can get something in the morning.' She held up a hand a Caraloine went to protest. 'The only thing Mark and I need to get married, is each other, having the two of your there would just be a bonus. We can have a party anytime.'

Carolyn looked at her for a long moment. 'Are you sure about this? Really sure?'

'Yes,' Grace reched out and took Carolyn's hand. 'So, will you come and see us get married?'

'Of course I will!' Carolyn leaned over and hugged her. 'I can't wait.'

* * *

Early the next morning the bell to Grace's apartment was rung and she kicked Mark out of bed, literally, to go get it.

Less than a minute later he came in a rushed to get dressed, startling her fully awake.

'Ma Shepherd is here, with Derek and has told me to go away and meet you at the city hall. I'm not arguing with a Shepherd woman, that's suicide, I'll see you later.' After a quick kiss he was gone.

Once she was done giggling Grace put a dressing gown on and wandered through the aprtment to find Carolyn whipping up pancake batter.

'Morning, you certainly lit a fire under Mark.'

Carolyn grinned at her. 'I've known him since he was little, I know how to make him move just as much as you do. And don't worry, I'm not making anything savoury to go with these, I know you don't like that.'

Grace wandered over and started grabbing fruit to chop up to go with the pancakes. 'You didn't have to make breakfast, I could have done that, you're on holiday.'

'And it's your wedding day,' Carolyn answered easily. 'You deserve a little pampering. So, after this, you can go have a bath while I clean up the dishes and then we'll get ready to go. Alright?'

'Alright,' she leaned over and dropped a kiss on Carolyn's cheek. 'You're a wonderful person Ma Shepherd. We're lucky to have you. Next year, we'll renew our vows and have a big ceremony and party and you can go nuts with the whole thing if you like.'

Carolyn laughed. 'I'm sure the girls would love the chance to play flower girl for you. Now eat, you've a wedding to get ready for.'

* * *

It was nine in the morning and Grace and Carolyn were getting out of the car that Derek had sent for them. Carolyn had put on a nice dress that she'd picked up at a store while Grace had been sorting her hair and makeup. Grace was wearing her wedding dress. It had long sleeves and a neckline that sat low on her shoulders, the skirt fell smoothly to floor and it was covered in lace.

Her hair might not be long and flowing like she'd always imagined, but Carolyn had bought a beautiful headpiece with crystals and pearls that went perfectly with her dress and shoes. Grace with thought it was perfect, better than she imagined.

Turning the last corner to the office where they would get married, Grace saw Mark, and then Mark saw her. Grace knew she would never forget the look on his face, the look of awe, wonder and absolute love was...it was perfect.

Mark looked down at her as the two women stopped beside them. 'You, are perfect, and I can't believe you're mine.'

'For as long as you're mine,' Grace replied, smiling softly at him.

'Forever then.'

Grace nodded. 'Always and forever.'

* * *

'I can't believe you're coming to the hospital like that.' Derek said as he drove the three of them to said hospital, Grace still in her weddng dress. 'I can't believe you aren't playing hooky either. You just got married. Would you two stop making out in the backseat of my car?'

'We just got married,' Mark said, throwing the words back at him. 'We can make out if we want to.'

Grace turned to look at Derek. 'Besides, we've been in the honeymoon period since my operation, and if you think about it, besides being more intimate with each other, what exactly has changed about our relationship?'

Derek considered that for a moment. 'Fair enough, but still, you could have changed.'

'Derek, I'm a married woman, my husband is the only one removing this dress, and only for the express purpose of hot passionate sex.'

Mark nodded and kissed her deeply before looking back to Derek. 'Besides, we both want to go through the hospital and into the on call room leaving everyone with absolutely no illusions about what we're doing in there.'

Derek just sighed, laughed and parked them as they arrived. Mark immediately got out lifted Grace into his arms, with her laughing as he did so. Going through the hospital everyone stared, asked questions and then congratulated them. There were also wolf whistles as they finally locked themselves in an on call room.

* * *

 _Author Note - This is the official end of the story. I have a couple of bonus chapters, they will be epilogue style, giving a glimpse of Grace and Mark's future together during later seasons._


	73. Mr Torres

_Author Note - I've always found this scene very funny and I couldn't help but put a Grace twist on it._

* * *

 _No on in this world can love a girl more than her father._

* * *

Grace was walking down a corridor talking to Arizona when Mark walked up to them, dropped on quick kiss on Grace's lips, before focusing on the other doctor.

'Is he here yet?'

Arizona smiled slightly. 'If you're talking about Calliope's Dad, then the answer is, I don't know, because I'm not going to meet him.'

'Yeah, Mark. They haven't been dating all that long, it too soon to meet the parents.' Grace passed a chart over the one of her passing residents. 'Get that back to Doctor Kay for me. Maybe the next time he's in town.'

Despite the fact that Grace's friendship with Callie had never got back to the way it was before she slept with Mark, Grace still got on very well with Arizona even though the two women were dating.

Mark looked between the two of them as Arizona nodded. 'And Torres is okay with that?'

'Yeah,' Arizona said. 'It was her idea. The man is here for one day and then he's gone. No muss, no fuss.'

Grace, stood on the other side of Arizona from Mark, was in the perfect position to see the approaching collision. 'Well here comes the fuss.'

Then Mr Torres was throwing George against a wall.

'Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now.'

Mark and Grace both moved closer in case they needed to step in.

'Dad, stop it!' Callie tried to save George.

She was ignored. 'You committed adultery.'

'Who hasn't?!' Callie said loudly as George turned even more red. 'I slept with him before we were divorced,' she pointed Mark, surprising both him and Grace and making her father look at her in shock. 'So technically George isn't the only one who cheated.'

After a moment Mr Torres released George and he stumbled off, quickly disappearing. Then he grabbed Mark and held him against the same piece of wall.

'Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill _you_ right now.'

'Mark Sloan, nice to meet you.' Mark forced out with what little air he had.

Grace slid up to Mark's side. 'They were friends, comforting each other, and now he's my husband and I'm the only one he has sex with. Also, if you try that, I'd be more than happy to kick you in the balls so hard they get lodged up your nostrils.' She said all this with a perfectly friendly smile.

Mr Torres seemed rather taken aback by this and didn't move, more from surprise than anything else, until Callie spoke again.

'Besides, I'm happy now. I'm dating someone now and I'm happy now, okay?'

Mr Torres released Mark and stepped back with a slightly apologetic look to Grace.

Grace and Mark retreated away from the angry father and towards the lifts.

'I'm so glad I'm not sleeping with Torres anymore.' Mark said with a cough.

Grace laughed quietly. 'Yeah, me too.'


	74. George

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Sometimes it's okay if the only thing you did today was breath._

* * *

Grace stood outside George's room in the ICU, looking in at the brain dead body of the young man. She couldn't help but remember her time spent talking to his father.

'Gracie?' Mark asked as he appeared next to her. 'You alright?'

'I keep thinking of his father,' she responded quietly. 'The night before his operation, he told me that the reason he told Richard and Miranda to take as much of the cancer as they could, despite the risks, was because if they didn't, he would feel like he wasn't fighting to stay with his family. Like he wasn't giving everything he had to stay with them.'

'Sounds like a good guy. Just like his son.'

Grace nodded. 'He, asked me to keep an eye on George, if the worst happened. George actually came and told me he was enlisting, before he went to do so. And for a moment I thought about talking him out of it.' She paused, wiping at a few tears that slipped free. 'But then I remembered that conversation with his Dad. And I knew that it was the same thing with George. He felt like, he wasn't doing his best here, like he needed to do more, be more.'

Mark wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. 'Did you tell him? About his Dad?'

'Yeah,' Grace nodded, her eyes still on George's body. 'I told him, and it was like...like something just clicked inside him. I could see him straighten himself up at the thought of being like his Dad. And I told George that his Dad would be proud of him, pushing to be his absolute best. And now...' She broke off, crying quietly into Mark's scrubs.

'He willingly gave his life to save someone. If you're gonna go, I can't think of a better way.' Mark said firmly. 'And I know O'Malley would say the same.'

Grace nodded and held Mark tighter, still crying, still mourning the lost potential of George O'Malley.

* * *

 _Author Note - Don't hate me._


	75. Bad All Round

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes._

* * *

Grace sat opposite Richard, Larry from the board, and Julie from the legal department.

'Grace, you already know everyone so we'll get straight to it. Tell us what happened tonight, your experiences in the ER.'

'I got paged to check a woman who was thirty weeks pregnant. She had been cleared, no burns, minor smoke inhalation, clear airways etc. But she had back ache that she didn't have earlier in the day, so I was needed to give her an ultrasound. I got to the ER just after Charles Percy fainted and Miranda had rushed out with April Kepner to take care of that patient.

'I asked Reed Adamson if she knew where the pregnant woman was and she directed me back into the hallway. Since the ER was slammed and there was no room anywhere, I decided to just have the woman immediately taken up to maternity to save space and have her in a more relaxed environment.'

'When did you go back to the ER, and why?' Larry asked as she paused to take a drink of water.

'My patient had lost her bag, I could have sent a nurse, or orderly back down to get it, but I wanted to check in on Mark, I knew he was working on a kid and...' Grace shrugged, they all knew kids were harder. 'I got down there and walked into the ER with Derek, I saw Mark was doing fine so I was about to go find the bag when Derek and I heard the noise in the adjacent trauma bay get louder. When we walked in...it was chaos. There were too many bodies in there.

'The patient in question was clearly beyond help, blood was everywhere, they were too busy arguing with each other to even notice. Derek told them they'd lost and said to call it. After a moment of no one talking I asked who's patient it was and they just looked at everyone else. So I checked the time and called it.' Grace rubbed a hand across her head. This was just bad all round.

Richard sighed. 'Thank you Grace.'

'Who?' Grace asked, knowing someone was getting fired over this.

Larry shook his head. 'Grace we can't - '

'Oh bull Larry, we all know it could just as easily be me sat where Richard is. So tell me, who is getting fired because the board didn't consider the ramifications of shoving two groups of doctors together without any kind of grace period?'

'Kepner,' Richard said as he shut a folder. 'She forgot to do a visual check of the woman's airways.'

Grace sighed and stood. 'Bad all round. She has amazing potential.'


	76. Happy Holidays

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. This is the **second**_ _chapter uploaded today, don't forget to read **Bad All Round**._

* * *

 _The members of my family are crazy, but they're mine anyway._

* * *

Grace stood stock still, looking at Miranda but not really seeing her. 'Excuse me?'

'Blonde girl, about 18-20, said Sloan was her father. Her first name _is_ Sloan.'

'That's what I thought you said, a baby Sloan called Sloan.' Grace said absently before putting a hand over her eyes. 'I need a drink.'

* * *

Grace stood at the nurse's station near the conference room, looking in at her husband and her could be step-daughter.

Derek appeared beside her. 'Are you not going in?'

'I don't know.' Grace said, not looking away from the blonde girl. 'Did you need something?'

'From your husband, not you.' Derek touched her shoulder briefly. 'You know where I am.'

'Thanks.'

Grace watched as Derek went in, and when Mark stood up to leave with him, Grace quickly vacated the area, she had work to do.

* * *

In Callie's kitchen, Grace was chopping veg to go with their turkey tomorrow. Nearby, Callie and Arizona kept kissing as they did their own preperations. She couldn't help but smile at how happy they were, Grace was glad she and Callie had managed to repair their friendship. It helped that she had been friends with Arizona and that Mark was friends with Callie. It was an incentive for them to talk things out.

'Hey, hey!' Grace tapped the top of Callie's hand with her knife as she tried to steal a piece of carrot. 'For the third time, no, sneaking. Or the next time it'll be the cutting edge that meets flesh.'

Callie put her hands up and backed away with a grin. 'Okay, I need these hands to work, I'll be good.'

Grace flashed a grin at Arizona. 'Keep your girlfriend out of my veg Robbins. If you like those fingers where they are.'

'I do like them attached,' Arizona replied with flirty smile at Callie. 'Very much so, she'll behave.'

There was knock at the door and Grace knew Mark must have seen the note in their apartment down the hall. They'd also bought the smaller one bed apartment directly across from Callie's and Lexie rented it from them.

The three women smiled as Mark came in, only for the atmosphere to become tense as Sloan followed behind him.

'Hey,' Callie said. 'Er...Happy Thanksgiving, who wants wine?'

'Ooh I do.' Sloan said, only to be cut off by Mark.

'No, you don't.' He kept looked in at Grace, who kept looking away to chop veg. 'Well, the results are in...it turns out Sloan was right, about her parentage. I am her Dad.'

Grace felt her heart stutter, almost stop at those words.

'So here's another thing, to be thankful for,' Mark continued as Callie and Arizona both made happy-ish noises. 'Grace,' she looked up at him. 'Sloan is going to move in with us for a little while.'

There was a sudden change in the chopping noise and Grace felt pain. Looking down Grace realised that she had chopped her index finger on her right hand, the tip entirely gone, mixed with the veg for dinner.

'Ow,' Grace said quietly as Callie quickly grabbed a tea towel and wrapped it around her finger.

* * *

Christmas Eve. She loved looking out at the lights of wherever was when this time of year came around.

Grace stood at the window to the living area, looking out at the snow and lights, a glass of bourbon in her hand. She saw Mark come over to her.

'How's the finger today?' He asked, taking her right hand gently. 'Still tingling?'

'A little, it's fine.' She glanced at him, knowing what he wanted. 'I'm not asking her. She's been here a month and you've barely spoke beyond 'pass the cereal'. You invited her to stay, go try be her Dad.'

'What's she like, once you get to know her?'

Grace sighed, and glance through the archway to the kitchen/dining area were Sloan was sat doing her nails. 'Nice enough, kind of...shallow, vain, a little dense at times, but nice enough. Go find out for yourself, I don't have to like - '

'No, you don't.' Mark turned her to face him. ' _You_ are the single most important person in my life. It's not important that you like her, I'd like you to, but you are more important. I love you.'

Melting against him, Grace felt the tenson leave her. 'I love you too.' Things had been awkward between the two of them for the first time ever since Sloan turned up. It wasn't that Grace felt threatened by Sloan, it was more like...the girl was almost a walking, talking reminder of the past, it the worst child-of-mine kind of way.

Grace smiled up at Mark. 'Like I said, she's nice enough.' She stepped back and shoved him towards the kitchen.

* * *

Miranda cornered her looking a little...strung out.

'Invite me to dinner.'

Grace leaned back slightly, Miranda was very close. 'You mean...today? For Christmas?'

'Yes, my father will not leave if he thinks I have no social life.'

'Well, we were going to have dinner with Derek and Meredith and Lexie, so, go ask Meredith.'

Miranda nodded and disappeared.

'And switch to decaf,' she yelled after her friend.

* * *

Grace sat with Richard and Arizona on the sofa, Owen was to her left playing the guitar.

 _ **I really can't stay**_

Arizona and Grace were taking one set of lyrics, Richard took the other, their three voices going together beautifully.

 _But Baby it's cold outside_

 _ **I've got to go away**_

 _But baby it's cold outside_

The house was filled with people, a dinner that had started out with her, Mark, Meredith, Derek, Lexie and Thatcher had grown significantly, though some of the guests weren't here yet. Grace loved it, though she was less than happy about the fact that Sloan had bought Mark nothing more than a Seattle snow globe, despite Grace giving her fifty dollars to get him something. She aimed a glare at said teenager without missing a beat in the song.

* * *

Later, after Mark, Owen and Derek had wrestled two tables together to make room for everyone, dinner was started.

Grace listened with interest as Miranda described the laproscopic proceedure she had performed on the girl without a heart.

'Miranda, mind your manners.' Mr Bailey said suddenly, killing the festive mood with his tone. 'Even if surgery is your whole life, it doesn't mean you have to talk about bowels at the dinner table.'

There was a long moment of silence as Miranda just stared at her father.

'My child is healthy.'

'Excuse me?' Mr Bailey asked.

'He may not be with me tonight, but he's healthy, and he's well loved...'

'I didn't say he - '

'He's a well loved boy, and he's a happy boy and staying in an unhappy marriage...'

'Now is not the time or place.'

Miranda continued firmly. 'A marriage that I've outgrown, a marriage full of ultimatums and numbness and resentment.'

'Miranda!'

'That is not the kind of life I want to model for my child. That is not want I want him to believe married love is. Look, I know what's possible. I know what's out there for me because you taught me well. You and Mom showed me what true love looks like, my best friend and her husband have as well. So I chose not to settle and I'm happier for it. Even if I'm alone for Christmas. My child is healthy and I'm happy.'

There was another pause a the father and daughter took in the silence around them.

'You know part of my happiness is that I got to repair a woman's bowel and save her life today. And that's God's work, which makes this appropriate dinner conversation.' She glances around and everyone else nodded and smiled in agreement.

'I'm happy and my child is healthy and that's enough for me today. Dad, that's enough.'

Grace decided to try and help the situation. 'Yesterday, I operated on a 24 week pregnant woman, the baby wouldn't have made it to New Year let alone nine months. Yesterday, I gave an unborn child the chance to live and grow and play and smile and laugh. I know everyone in here has saved a life at least once at Christmas time in the past. So,' she lifted her glass. 'Here's to life, and love, and Christmas miracles.'

Everyone was smiling a lot easier now as they exchanged glass clinks and cheers. Miranda aimed a grateful smile her way which Grace returned.

* * *

Grace was making dinner in the kitchen when Mark sidled in slowly, lifting over the salad things she needed.

Mark smiled when she glanced at him. 'Hi.'

'Talk to her tonight, or no sex.'

'Grace - '

'Mark,' Grace paused as her pager went beside her. wiping her hands she grabbed it. 'I have to go. I love you.' She kissed Mark a quickly left, grabbed her coat and keys on the way out the door.


	77. Baby Blues

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _It's not the pain, it's who it came from._

* * *

Grace rubbed her head as Mark stood in front of her. 'Okay first, don't kick my residents off cases, even if it does involve your daughter. Second, I can't take Sloan on - ' she held up a hand as Mark went to talk. 'It has nothing to do with my lack of liking her, I have a full case load and _none_ of them can be bumped. But I will call Addie for you if you - '

'Don't bother, I'll do it myself.' Mark turned and left her office.

'Great,' Grace dropped her head into her hands, before looking up as someone knocked on the open door. 'Doctor Kay?'

'The Liverstons are here and checked in, do you...do you need me to tell them you're busy?'

Grace smiled gratefully at her best resident, soon to be fellow attending. 'No, I'm good, but thanks.' She stood and walked out of the room with him. 'Okay, go through it again.'

* * *

Grace sat in the canteen, eating some limp salad before her next surgery came around, when Addison came and sat opposite her.

'You're wondering why Mark called you, instead of asking me? He did, but when I tried to tell him I'm slammed he decided I was refusing because I don't like Sloan.'

'Do you like her?' Addison said, sipping her coffee.

'She's nice enough, but no, I don't.' Grace didn't see any reason to mince her words. 'And now I'm the bad guy. Because I'm busy saving a dozen other lives.'

Addison leaned forward and took Grace's hand, making her look up. 'I have never seen you two like this, even when you were arguing about your operation, you were never like this.'

Grace felt tears come to her eyes. 'I'm a month pregnant Addie, I'm terrified and I can't tell him because he isn't talking to me. I can't tell him because his eighteen year old child is the topic of every conversation. I can't even look at her without seeing ghosts of the past and for the last couple of weeks since I found out I was pregnant I haven't slept properly because I am terrified another ghost will be there soon.'

'Oh Grace,' Addison got up and moved to hug her tightly, Grace clinging to her friend. 'You need to talk to him, you can _not_ face this pregnancy alone. You need the support.'

'I know, I know.' Grace mumbled into Addison's shoulder. 'I will, when he isn't as stressed about Sloan.'

Addison pulled back and looked at her. 'Promise?'

'I promise.'

* * *

'You asked her to move in with us permanently?' Grace said when the two of them were back at home. She only had six hours before her needing to be back at the hospital. Grace had hoped to tell Mark she was pregnant, and have him hold her and tell her everything would be okay. Not to have this bomb shell dropped on her without any warning.

'I know it's sudden, but it just felt...right. It was the right thing to do.' Mark reached out and took her hands, Grace too shocked to stop him. 'Gracie, today I became I Dad, and the way Sloan was, she became a Mom.

Grace flinched and yanked her hands away from Mark. 'You...' she paused to try and hold back her tears. 'I thought, you became a Dad twelve years ago. I thought it was _our_ son, that was buried in a tiny coffin in New York. I thought we were a couple that made these decisions together, that had these life changes _together_ , I thought _we_ were a family.'

'Grace...'

'No, tonight I wanted to come home and tell you something and spend the few hours I can spare between saving lives...just being held in your arms. Instead, I got this, and this is all I've had since Sloan arrived.' Grace took a step away from Mark for the first time in her life. Tears dripping down her face. 'I'm going to go spend a few nights at Derek and Meredith's.'

She turned a left to pack a quick bag. Five minutes later Grace shut the front door behind her, Mark still stood where she left him.

* * *

 _Author Note - Don't hate me._


	78. Baby Blues Too

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. I hope you enjoy this one. I'm considering doing a separate story with drabbles showing the POVs of other characters as they interact with Grace throughout the story. Let me know if that's something that would interest you._

* * *

 _A person who truly loves you, will never let you go, no matter how hard the situation._

* * *

Grace flinched, as the bedroom door opened she instinctively opened her eyes, letting the morning sun blind her.

'What the hell?'

Realising there was an unfamiliar arm around her Grace shrieked and jerked out of the bed and onto the floor, giving her a view of who was in the bed with her.

'What the fuck Karev?!' Grace stood and shoved the barely awake resident. 'I told you to go to the sofa if you didn't want to sleep in your wife's old bed. Ugh!' She stopped and clutched her head, a hangover making it pound ridiculously loud.

Meredith was staring in shock. 'Did you two - ?'

'No!' Grace and Alex shouted at the same time.

Grace gave him a dirty look. 'We shared a bottle of bourbon, that's all. We were being miserable together. But that was it, there was no...' she broke of and shuddered, the idea of touching anyone but Mark like that, trusting someone else like that, almost made her physically sick.

'I need coffee.' Alex said getting out of bed, revealing that he still had his jeans on from last night. 'And seriously?' He looks at Meredith with smirk. 'Grace can't even stand to have most women physically close to her, never mind a guy, never mind having sex with someone other than Sloan.'

'Ugh,' Grace shuddered again and grabbed her dressing gown. She wrapped it tightly around herself as she left and then finally realised what Meredith had been saying as she came into the room. 'Did you say Stevens is coming back?'

* * *

'How much did the two of you drink?' Meredith asked as Alex stood with a cup of coffee and Grace sat on a stool with her head propped on one hand and coffee in the other.

'He actually drank the most,' Grace said taking a sip of the foul liquid she'd been given, it was better than nothing. 'I'm just really hung over because I haven't been sleeping and I didn't eat much yesterday. I only had one drink.' She felt a little guilty about that one drink, but knew it wouldn't harm the baby any.

Alex nodded. 'Besides even if we had screwed last night, why would it be your business? You're a former dirty mistress.'

'It would be my business because - ' Meredith stopped as Grace's phone rang. When Grace just froze and didn't move the resident raised an eyebrow at her. 'You want me to get that for you?'

'Depends on who it is.'

Meredith exchanged a look with Alex and then reached into the pocket of Grace's dressing gown, pulling out both her pager and the phone. 'It's Lexi.' She held the phone out with a curious expression.

Grace took the phone and answered it. 'Hey Lexi, what's up?'

 _'Last night your husband knocked on my door, blind drunk, and asked if we could, and I quote, 'get jiggy with it'. He wouldn't go away so I invited him in, told him to sit on the sofa, and by the time I brought a cup of coffee over he was asleep on my sofa, and he still is. I went over to your place, but you weren't there, and then you weren't there this morning so I'm thinking you were at the hospital, so maybe you could come home and fix your husband?!'_

Grace was rather impressed with how fast Lexi said all that and on so few breaths as well. Meredith and Alex could also hear everything considering she was quite loud. 'I wasn't at the hospital. I spent the night at Meredith's.'

 _'Wait, what? Why did you go to Meredith's? Ohh, hang on, is this because Mark asked Sloan to move in with you?'_

'Well, that's what started it,' Grace sighed and rubbed her eyes, looking at the clock. 'I need to go to the hospital, I have surgery soon. Would you make sure he eats something before you kick him out? Please? He's flying down to LA with Sloan in a couple of hours.'

 _'Sure, but I can wake him if you want to - '_

'No. No thanks. I'll talk to you later Lexi.' Grace hung up and dropped her phone to the counter.

'You okay?' Meredith asked after a moment.

Grace bit her lip to keep from crying again. 'Not really. I just...I'm lost, so lost. I've never not had Mark, and now...' She put her empty cup down and stood. 'Is it okay if I spend a couple more nights here?'

Meredith nodded straight away. 'Sure, stay as long as you need. And don't worry, no one else will know.'

'Know what?'

The three of them turned to find Stevens in the doorway with a large suitcase.

Grace rolled her eyes. 'I'm getting dressed. Do you need a lift Meredith?'

'I'm good, thanks.'

* * *

'Have you noticed anything off about the Chief lately?'

Grace looked up from the chart she was reviewing to give Derek a tired look. 'What?'

'The Chief, you're close with him, has he seemed different to you lately?'

'Derek, I don't know if you've noticed but since the merger, Richard hasn't been close to anyone, least of all me.' Grace looked back at her chart. 'He's...pulled away. Which sucks because I could really use advice from him right now.'

'Are you alright?' Derek asked, realising something was off with her.

Grace gave a humourless laugh. 'No, not in the slightest.'

Derek moved a little closer. 'Anything to do with why your car was in my driveway this morning?'

'Yes.' She swallowed heavily before taking a deep breath. 'I just...I can't talk about it now, if I do, I'll just wind up crying again, and I need to work.'

'Alright,' Derek said after a moment. 'But you know, I'm your friend now as well. You can talk to me.' He hugged her for a long moment before turning and leaving.

Grace managed to keep a smile on her face a decent amount of time after that.

* * *

Later Grace was sat in the attendings lounge hiding in the corner next to a cupboard, the shadows of the dark room hiding her, even from Derek who had come in ten minutes ago and never noticed her.

She was trying to figure out how to fix things with Mark. Mark was the one she always talked to about her problems, never had she thought that he would be the problem she needed to talk about.

The door made a slight noise as someone came in and Grace listened as Derek spoke to Owen, both about the instruments and his own problem, which made his questions about the Chief easier to understand. Though she almost laughed at Owen's nickname for Meredith and Cristina.

After Owen's advice, Grace spoke up, startling both men.

'So how do I tell my husband I'm pregnant, when he wants to move his eighteen year old and her soon to be born baby into our place without asking me about it? How do I tell him when I can barely say it out loud without panicking.'

Derek and Owen both moved over to her, Derek kneeling beside her with Owen stood behind him.

'You're pregnant?' Derek asked with a small smile.

Grace nodded, tears slipping free. 'I'm terrified Derek. The last time - ' she cut off, unable to even say it. 'Sloan is nice. But she is a walking talking reminder of a child that never got to live. Do you know what he said to me last night? He said that yesterday he became a Dad. Yesterday. Not twelve years ago. _Yesterday_. I thought, I thought...' she broke down sobbing as Derek's arms wrapped around her.

'It's alright,' Derek said as he held her, letting her cry. 'I've got you, everything will be okay.'

Grace clung to him, desperate for the hope he was offering her.

* * *

Grace was sat in the lobby of the hospital, she knew Mark had been in to visit Callie and her chicken pox and knew this was the best place to intercept him. Besides, she could see his car from here.

'Grace?'

Looking up, Grace found herself feeling a little glad that he appeared to look as bad as she felt.

'Hi.'

Mark moved a little closer but didn't speak.

'Addie called me, let me know what happened. I'm glad they're both okay.' Grace managed to smile slightly. 'And then the nurses let me know you were here, so did Lexi.'

'You just walked out, Grace.'

Grace lost the smile. 'You let me,' she replied as they looked at each other. 'I left, and for the first time ever, you let me go.'

Mark sighed and sat next to her. 'I just, I didn't mean it the way it came out. But with - ' he paused and swallowed. 'With Marcus I couldn't _do_ anything. All I could do was sit there and watch him slip away from us.' Mark turned to face her properly, his hands coming up to frame her face. 'Marcus, will always, _always_ be my son, my first, _our_ first child. I swear.'

'I know,' Grace said as she began to cry and leaned forward to kiss him. 'I love you, so much.'

'I love you too, forever and always.' Mark said before pulling back slightly. 'So why are you still crying?'

Grace took a breath. 'I'm just being hormonal.'

Mark laughed dismissively. 'Grace even on your period you're not like this. In fact, the last time you were like this was when - ' he froze as the thought came to him. 'Gracie, are you...?'

She just nodded unable to say the words out loud. 'A month. And I'm so scared. I'm terrified Mark. What if something - '

'No.' Mark said firmly, making her look him in the eye. 'I won't let that happen.'

'You can't promise me that,' she said sadly. 'No matter how amazing you are.'

Mark smirked. 'I take that as a challenge you know. Gracie, I won't let anything happen to you or our baby. I promise.'

And Grace believed him.


	79. Sanctuary And Death

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews._

* * *

 _Sanctuary, on a personal level, is where we perform the job of taking care of our soul._

* * *

'Only a few weeks now.' Richard said as he handed the latest scan picture back to her. 'Nervous?'

Grace nodded slightly. 'Bordering on terrified, but then I see Mark and he kisses me and calms me down.'

'Good, I'm glad you're handling it.' He pulled his AA chip from his pocket, fiddling with it.

Grace didn't mention his fidgeting, she knew that it happened sometimes when the thought of drinking crossed his mind. 'I'm glad you asked to meet up. I've missed our meals together.'

'Me too.' Richard said glancing at the paper he held in his other hand. 'I'm just sorry - '

'Richard,' she said, cutting off. 'I've already said, I understand why you pulled away from me. I wish you hadn't, but I understand it.' Grace took drink of her hot chocolate. 'You've apologised, I accepted, now we move forward.'

Richard chuckled and went back to his paper, Grace looking out the window, at ease with each other and content to simply enjoy some quiet with a friend.

'You can't pay with that.' The waitress said as she filled Richard's coffee cup.

'Oh,' Richard chuckled slightly when he realised what she meant. 'It's uh, it's my AA chip. Six months sober.'

The waitress smiled. 'Good for you.'

As the woman walked away Grace smiled when she saw how much those simple words cheered Richard. Coming from a friend was one thing, but a stranger saying it seemed to make it ring more true.

A little while later Grace frowned as she saw a whole mess of police vehicles coming their way.

'What the hell?' Grace watched with Richard as they passed the cafe. 'That's towards the hospital...' after exchanging a look with Richard they both quickly got to their feet and rushed out the door towards the hospital.

* * *

Grace went wide eyed when they came round the corner and saw the blockade around the hospital.

Richard took hold of her hand as they hurried on, pausing briefly at the line holding back pedestrians and headed towards one of the officers that seemed to be in charge.

'Officer. What's the situation?'

'You gotta stand back.' The man tried to usher them away.

'Look, I'm Richard Webber and this is Grace Mason, I'm the Chief, former Chief - '

'That's our hospital!' Grace said, cutting Richard off. 'What is happening?'

The officer sighed. 'A shooter took down one of the doctors.'

'Oh god!' Grace grabbed onto Richard's arm to steady herself.

'We're not sure whether or not he's still inside.'

Richard made to rush past the officer, pulling free from Grace as he did. Grace felt faint and lost track of things until Richard was stood in front of her talking.

'Grace? Grace! Focus! You will _not_ panic and have your baby early, do you hear me? Grace?'

'Mark...he's in there...'

Richard shook her slightly. 'No, you focus on you and the baby. That beautiful little girl you are growing _needs_ you. Focus on _her_ , let the police focus on the hospital and our people. Do you hear me?'

Grace managed to nod shakily. 'Y-yes. Yes, I hear you.'

'Grace you won't lose him.' Richard put his hands on either side of her face. 'If anyone deserves a happy ending, it's you. You _will_ get it, understood?' He was using his Chief of Surgery voice, and that more than anything else helped Grace calm down.

'Understood sir.'

Richard pulled her into a hug as they turned back to the hospital.

* * *

Grace had refused to move very far from the command centre vehicle. So she was sat on a chair close by when one of the officers said they had sound. Then Grace was desperately picking out the voices of people she knew, only to lose track when she heard Mark's voice.

He was alive.

She clung to that single fact as tightly as she could, both of her arms wrapped around her stomach protectively, cradling Mark's baby within her.

* * *

'Can you identify Gary Clark?'

Grace blinked and looked away from the hospital and up at the female officer stood next to her. 'Pardon?'

'You're Doctor Mason, right? Can you identify Gary Clark?'

'Uh...' Grace nodded when a face popped into her mind. 'Yeah, why...he's the shooter?'

The officer held out a sheet of paper. 'Is this Mr Gary Clark?'

'Yes. Yes that's him.'

'Thank you. Also they are starting to evacuate the medical staff now. Doctors should start appearing soon.

'Thank you,' Grace managed a smile for that piece of news, but her mind kept the image of Gary Clark dancing in front of her eyes. He was the one that did all this.

* * *

'Grace!'

Grace staggered to her feet and ran to Mark, seeing nothing but him. 'Mark! Thank God!' She pressed her lips to his, ignoring the blood he was covered in, getting as close to him as she could.

'You're alright?' Mark asked as he pulled back slightly.

'I am now, we both are.'

'Mark!'

They both turned to find Teddy gesturing at him from an ambulance, Lexi nearby, covered in blood.

'Who is that?' Grace asked, unable to see who they'd loaded.

'Karev, Lexie's a mess...I...' Mark had never looked more torn.

'Go with Alex, I'll stay here and keep you updated.' She was now worried about her young friend and knew Mark should go.

Mark looked down at her in surprise. 'Are you sure?'

Grace nodded firmly and smiled. 'You're not dead. Everything else is upward from there.'

'Sloan!'

Mark kissed her hard and than ran to the ambulance.

Grace had never thought she'd be able to appreciate the sight of Mark running from her, but right now it was the best thing in the world.


	80. Life

_Author Note - Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews. I wish the final chapter for this story was a little longer, but it just felt right to have this as the ending._

 _For **animexchick** and her many reviews._

* * *

 _The best view comes after the hardest climb._

* * *

'Are you sure you want to do this here?' Mark asked as he walked through the doors of the hospital with her.

Grace sighed and nodded. 'Right now, people are walking around like this place is a graveyard. This is _my_ hospital, and I will remind people that we _save_ lives, we change them for the better. I will remind them that life doesn't just end, it begins. Oh f - ' she broke off and grabbed Mark's hand tightly, a contraction ripping through her.

'That's two minutes since the last one.' Mark said after glancing at his watch.

'Doctor Mason?'

Grace looked up when her contraction ended. 'Tyler, hey there, do me a favour and get me a wheelchair. And page my doctor, tell them the baby is coming.'

Tyler went wide eyed before grinning happily. 'I'll get right on that Doctor Mason.' He disappeared to find a wheelchair for her.

'We're doing this here Mark.' Grace said, smiling up at her husband. 'Now, let's go have our baby.'

Mark kissed her and then helped her into the wheelchair Tyler reappeared with. 'Let's go have our baby.'

* * *

Grace grabbed the front of Mark's shirt and pulled him close to her. 'If you tell me one more time that I'll be fine, I will transplant your dick to your face. I _know_ I'm fine. I've delivered more babies than you can count. _You_ are the one that needs to relax and take some happy pills or something. Now _shut up_.'

'Yes dear.'

* * *

Thirteen hours.

Pain and blood and poop and pain and crying and Mark and pain.

And none of that mattered.

Grace looked down at her daughter in her arms and forgot all about the last thirteen hours. It didn't matter. The pain didn't matter. She didn't care that like most women in labour she pooped herself.

All that matter was the tiny, seven pound , _healthy_ , baby in her arms.

'Look what we did Gracie.' Mark was sat beside her on the bed, a tone of unbelievable wonder in his voice.

'She's perfect,' Grace replied softly, smiling as their little one opened her eyes with a murmur. 'Absolutely perfect.'

'So we're decided?' Mark asked, taking hold of a tiny hand.

Grace nodded and shifted slightly to lean against Mark a little more. 'Yes. Our little princess, Evelyn Miranda Sloan.'

Mark kissed the top of Grace's head and then brushed gentle finger on their daughter's face. 'I love you Gracie, so much.'

'I love you too. Forever and always, right?'

'Right.'

* * *

The End


End file.
